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#Post CInema Theory
unlikely-course · 1 year
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The thing about goncharov (1973) that a lot of people don’t seem to get is like…Goncharov is clearly an Italian man working for the Russians but he’s not just some rando the rest of the characters know him—he speaks like a local, Joe knows how he takes his coffee, Mario puts that hand on his neck as he’s dying because he’s reaching out to someone who used to be a friend. Andrey talks about him as a “faithless man” but how does he know that unless he’s already been betrayed by him (or at least feels like he has)? Everybody calls him Lo Straniero not because he’s literally a stranger to them but because he has made himself a stranger to them.
This puts the conversation between Goncharov and Mario in the restaurant in a whole different light like…home is only home while you are dutiful. You are only a man while you are loyal and obedient to “better men.” If the people who claim to be your family cast you aside then what does that mean for your very identity? You can cast that aside too and then you don’t owe anything to anybody. It’s about being pushed out of family and community until the self collapses and a new self must be born.
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maulfucker · 2 months
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I can't even joke about wanting a show about Maul fucking because first of all they would try to make him straight (which he absolutely isn't) and second of all you knowwww he didn't fuck before he had his legs cut off. he was too busy being a moody teenager and going on murder vacations. so it would have to be set post AotC. so for him to fuck they would have to canonize cybernetic dicks.
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ghost-in-the-corner · 4 months
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MatPat makes it impossible to talk about my job
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dougielombax · 23 days
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Okay.
Now!
If you’re gonna make an experimental film, at least make sure it’s interesting.
I don’t want 7 fucking hours of a traffic cone or 12 hours of the Empire State Building and nothing else.
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Or 17 hours of THIS SHIT!!!
That’s just bullshit.
It should be anything else so long as it’s interesting.
(No matter how incomprehensible or otherwise baffling it may be)
At the very least.
Please try to keep this in mind.
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bahbahhh · 1 year
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As Above, So Below
[Line art here]
Notes under cut
big shout out to @newtsnaturethings who does amazing nature studies and inadvertently helped me make stone look kinda like stone.
@manxden posted a nice summary of the battery theory. It is one of my favorite theories out there. The idea Ganondorf is the source of the power that saves Link, the hero meant to destroy him. Poetic cinema. I made a rambly post back in September that inspired this piece. You can read the full chaos here but in summary:
LONG AGO ganondorf is sealed and everyone thinks problem-solved but THEN they realize how much spirit/life energy he emits and the Royal Family orders the Sheikah to expand tech around it. What they don't anticipate is battery acid - malice. Monsters start appearing but they have the tech and just wipe them out without looking for the source. The more they use the spirit energy, the more malice is created in the sealing chamber. THIS is where get the events of 10,000 years ago. First Calamity Ganon appears...they go back to the old equation (goddess blood princess plus hero) WITH tech/Divine Beasts and beat back the Calamity. Again, this doesn't fix the problem. The Royal Family decides to banish "Sheikah" tech and like a nuclear plant meltdown, they just bury everything and hope that fixes it.
Because spirit energy is not being used during this time, Malice builds much slower. Takes 10,000 years for another Calamity to form but he's smarter this time because at his core he is a PERSON in stasis who remembers everything that was done to him.
BOTW happens.
The history of the royal family of Hyrule is also the history of Calamity Ganon
I love this line and hope it’s expanded upon in TotK.
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david-talks-sw · 7 months
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So that whole interaction between Ahsoka and Huyang, where they talk about Sabine's choice to help the enemy find Thrawn (in hopes that she can then find Ezra) is clearly meant to be subtext for what happened with Anakin.
I mean change the pronoun from "she/her" to "he/him", tweak some of the names and...
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... it's just blatant.
The parallels were already clear in the previous episode, as pointed out in this post here, and it still holds true:
Sabine's struggle with attachment mirrors Anakin's.
We know Filoni's whole stance on why Anakin fell to the Dark Side: he'll usually acknowledge that Anakin was ruled by his attachments, got possessive of Padmé, but then adds:
"HOWEVER is loving that way really that bad?"
"HOWEVER he never stood a chance because Qui-Gon wasn't there to teach him properly and be the father Anakin needed."
I've already gone into why both these statements don't track with Lucas' intended narrative here and here... but I wanna touch on this notion that "Anakin wasn't trained enough to make a better choice."
He was.
You know how we know? Because we saw him overcome his attachments before.
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We saw him explain the theory of the non-attachment rule, before.
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In fact, wee saw him pass down a lot of the Jedi lessons, in The Clone Wars, including being disciplined, following orders and not acting impulsively.
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The issue is that - while Anakin knows the theory, even has a few minor successes applying it - he never builds the self-discipline needed to master it because... deep down... he doesn't want to.
This is partially because you got Palpatine telling him he doesn't need to, molding him into an arrogant, power-craving person... but the fact remains that Anakin made the choice himself.
Which Filoni acknowledges, sure... but not quite. The difference between his thesis and George Lucas' is that the latter picks a stance and defends it.
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"He started out as a very loving and compassionate person. And as he progressed, it was his inability to control his temper, his inability to let go of things, and his quest for power that were his undoing." - George Lucas, E! Behind the Scenes - ROTS, 2005
Anakin fell because he was greedy, just like any one of us can be.
Cool. Filoni, on the other hand, doesn't seem to land anywhere.
He dances around the issue (as can be seen by the debate between Ahsoka and Huyang, with no clear winner) and merely questions whether it's as simple as that.
Clearly he wants to justify Anakin's actions to some degree... but y'know, the narrative considers those actions so reprehensible that Anakin gets friggin' burned alive for it.
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"I felt it was important that we actually see that happen so that we could see the consequences of these bad things that he did. […] He forces his friends to turn against him. Which is heartbreaking." - George Lucas, “The Chosen One” Featurette, 2005
Because Anakin's actions are not meant to be justified.
It's easy to see why Filoni likes Anakin. One of the earliest tasks he had when writing The Clone Wars was humanizing a character whose sole functional purpose was to carry out a narrative about how:
"Without self-discipline, greed [can] force a character off the path to freedom." - Micael Hearn, The Cinema of George Lucas, 2005
And Anakin is a very sympathetic character.
His flaws are flaws that we all carry.
Q: Is it fair to assess Anakin is kind of cursed by his own goodness/good qualities? "I wouldn't say that’s true. He’s cursed by the same flaws, and issues that he has to overcome, that all humans are cursed with. There's a lot going on there. [...] The whole point is—and the reason I started the story where I did—is that Anakin is a normal, good kid. And how does somebody who is normal and good turn bad? What are the qualities, what is it that we all have within us that will turn us bad?" - George Lucas, Star Wars Insider #52, 2000
But narratively, Anakin is selfish.
He doesn't want to save Padmé's life, he wants to save himself from the pain of losing Padmé.
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And while you're supposed to sympathize with him, you're not meant to agree with him. He's Darth Vader, the space nazi. He messes up and consequentially "leaves the Force in darkness" for 20 years, instead of ushering it towards the light in the chancellor's office, when he has the chance.
So to shift the blame and say that...
HOWEVER, Anakin didn't have the proper support system or training to make a better choice.
... when the whole point of the narrative is about taking personal responsibility and being selfless instead of selfish... well, it is missing that point.
He did know better. He just didn't want to choose better, so he convinced himself he wasn't able to.
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oncomingnight · 9 months
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Yandere! Theoretical Physicist
Hello everyone, I hope you've been having an amazing day and night as you deserve. Last night, I watched Oppenheimer and it's my favorite movie of the whole year. It's the type of movie you just have to see in the cinema when you have the chance, the cast is absolutely phenomenal and the soundtrack is beyond incredible, as expected from Christopher Nolan. Now, time to talk writing! I decided to make this very specific original character, I don't think this post will get a ton of recognition but i just wanted to experiment a bit. I hope you all enjoy and never hesitate to send me a request or talk to me in my ask box. I'm here for you all :)!
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Every child is naturally curious, constantly grasping at everything and questioning subjects adults have long learned about. But Hans was a particularly curious little boy, asking extremely specific and quizzing questions, stunning his parents that couldn't even muster up a joking answer. This behavior perfectly explained the educational and career path he chose later on in life.
Your husband was a highly renowned man, but that never changed his outlook on life. He was still the charming and disgustingly romantic man that hid a surprise bouquet of roses behind his back each time the two of you had a date night.
Hans isn't ignorant towards his obsessive behavior, he's known for obsessing over his theories so being overly attached to you isn't something he's particularly concerned about. You're his wife...who isn't obsessed with their wife?
Well, other women and men have no effect on him romantically or egotistically, so, sometimes when other people brag about their spouses he's just sitting there like:
"Mhm. Well, yesterday my wife-"
His friends will invite him out for drinks and will try to get him to stay till midnight and he will immediately reject. "Yeah, no, I've gotta get home to the wife."
There's nothing he loves more than eating dinner with you in his office. The atmosphere is messy, ink-stained paper, pens misplaced, discontinued files, but you make it seem like the most peaceful room in the world with your presence. As much as he enjoys his job, it's nice to get away from thinking about such grand things and relaxing with the loveliest woman to ever live.
You.
As he's giving speeches in governmental spaces, he looks for your eyes to find a piece of solace. At times his thoughts can get a bit scattered when he's in front of large crowds, so, your companionship is everything he'll ever need to keep him in check.
There's a running rumor that all theoretical physicists eventually snap and go crazy. For him, this isn't necessarily true..?
I'm a liar.
Well, he has done questionable things to many people that he has and still considers threats. He's put them through extricating "experiments" in the basement at the bottom of your shared victorian home. Experiments aren't necessarily his forte but he'll take any excuse to teach those people a life long lesson.
One night, the two of you were at a birthday party in the home of another highly renowned scientist, a friend of his. Hans decided to leave your side for not even a full minute to go and grab a plate of food for you. He rarely leaves your side but when he just so happens to do so, a random nobody trying to make a name of themselves walks over and attempts to sweep you off your feet.
Oblivious to their flirting, you participate in the conversation with friendly, simple and curt dialogue. What you don't notice is Hans staring at the two of you from the kitchen that is on the other side of the room. He was absolutely furious. On the rare occurrence he leaves you alone, someone comes and takes advantage of the situation for their filthy desires.
He walks on over with a tray filled with tea cakes, tiramisu cubes, mini crepe cakes and cheesecake bars. He wraps his free hand around your waist, squeezes and sternly asks:
"And you are?" The way Hans purposefully makes himself look more intimidating than he already is results in the third party to feel like an immediate outsider, causing them to blurt their name then scurry away.
You harmlessly tease him about being a bit jealous which ignites his dimple ridden smile before he smoothly remarks:
"Please tell me, Bärchen, would that be so terrible? You can't blame a man for fighting to keep a woman like you."
He'd be so entranced as he watched you get ready for any occasion. Putting on moisturizing cream? He's sitting with his face in his palm and observing. Slipping a dress on? He's watching with a teasing smile before offering to help.
He'll see you getting ready, slowly walk up to you as he gently runs his veiny hands up and down your arms before leaning his head onto your shoulder and whispering:
"You look so beautiful, but I'm sure you know that already, hm? Let me help you." "You know how that ends, Hans. We can't run late this time, what about your speech?" "They can wait for me. Let a man show his adoration, m'kay?"
Even when the two of you live together, he finds a way to hide gifts around the house so he can surprise you with them at the right time. There doesn't even have to be a special occasion for him to show up with an edible arrangement, a beautifully boxed gift and a bouquet of yellow roses.
He had to work long and hard to get to the place he's in today, to get the recognition he deserved. He uses his money in an incredibly smart manner. Purchasing new decor for the house and...you might not guess it....booking trips and spoiling you with presents and trinkets.
He never really flaunts the amount of money he has in public, but, your wedding costed an immense amount and he was unapologetic about it. Hans knew you deserved the royal-like marriage celebration you'd always dreamed of, and he was eager to deliver.
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This post was inspired by a German actor that I have an IMMENSE crush on. His name is Matthias Schweighöfer (the blondie)
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sugar-grigri · 2 months
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Have you seen Fami's right ear ? Because I haven't.
The game of interpretation in reverse, or focusing on what seems to be avoided by the chapter, not shown, works! and even if it doesn't work, it's still fun and leads to wild theories, which I love to imagine. And this post is no exception to that rule.
We had chapter 155 where we interpreted backwards to find answers to Denji and Nayuta's existential crises.
We also interpreted backwards to better understand the inconsistencies in Yoshida's behavior and the implications for chapter 156.
In my opinion, chapter 157 is no exception to this rule. Focusing on what the author refuses to show in order to find the answers fits in well with a mangaka fascinated by cinema.
Not convinced? Chapter 156 ended on Asa's legs, like a superhero ready to take on the big bad alone. The next chapter directly contradicts what it had already demonstrated. But why? Because you shouldn't trust either the author or the way the characters present themselves to you. That's what this whole chapter is about.
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What matters to you may not necessarily matter to the characters. Our focus on the first page would be on Asa's missing arm. Yet she brushes it aside, as if she were dismissing our concerns with a wave of the hand: what's important to her, strangely enough, is wearing her uniform!
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Which raises another question... have you seen much of Asa without her uniform? Yes, we've seen her without it, but more often than not, it's her fetish outfit for readers.
I could tell you that, once again, this is to emphasize the fact that we don't have the same temporality on the characters, and that Fujimoto insists more and more on what he refuses to show, but I'll be accused of over-interpreting, so let's carry on.
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Fami's statement that appearing to be a high-school student is the best cover for me immediately brings to mind a specific public hunter, who also appears always dressed in his uniform! But people will tell me that I'm being too defensive of this character, so.... Let's continue even further
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Asa manages to turn the guns on those who were going to shoot them, all by imagining that she had been able to redeem them.
It's precisely because she's disconnected from reality that she's able to create the illusion that her power works
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And I repeat: disconnecting from the events we see in Chainsaw Man helps us too.
Asa is able to create weapons without even needing to touch them, i.e. to touch the concrete, the agent who watches over them is right to recognize her but wrong in believing she's there to help the church members in the basement, when in fact she's there for Chainsaw Man. It's normal for him to think that!
Because that's how she was presented on TV!
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Which shows what? That you can't trust everything you see
Just before, we had a focus on Asa's legs, particularly through her walking, the fact that she's almost running
Let's interpret this in reverse again. Did you see Fami's hands? Yes, we see them, but never up close and never open.
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What was important was obscured by the fact that, at the end, it was noted that she did have something in her hands, but the chapter focused on Asa's legs, even though she had slipped.
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Pay no attention to what was emphasized to guess what happens next
In the title, I'm talking about Fami's right ear, because she is abnormally shown on the same side throughout the chapter.
Because it's hiding an earpiece? I'd have liked to, but I don't think so. As someone pointed out in the previous post: you can still see her ear on page 2.
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The point is not to think that Fami is tilting her head to hide something in her ear, but why is she shown so much the same way?
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The fact that she's bent over reminded me of chapter 140, when Denji visits the CSM church for the first time. At the end of that chapter, Barem presents an ultimatum: which side is heavier? Chainsaw Man represented by that cable on Denji's torso or his peaceful life with his family?
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The chapter 140 is called "Scales", evoking the weighing of these two choices, and Fami, who is supposed to represent the church, is already tipped over.
Why? Because the choice has already been made
Denji chose to be Chainsaw Man, but when he realized it, he was faced with the fire in which he lost his cat and dogs.
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When he transformed, he found himself endangering his little sister Nayuta
The scales tipped in Chainsaw Man's favor, to the detriment of his family.
The way Fami was always presented on the same side was to make it clear which way his head was tilting : to the left.
Okay, but how do you explain Fami's head being tilted the other way in other earlier chapters? It's normal, Denji's choice is very recent! He hesitated until now!
All this makes even more sense with her Chainsaw Man earrings, which represent cables.
And then you'll tell me "it would work if she had a cable earring on the same ear, but it's safe on both ears so it doesn't work", yes it does, trust us, we'll carry on.
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When does Asa fall in part 2? Often when death is near, almost like a bad omen announcing it. She falls crushing Bucky, she falls with Yuko who later dies prematurely, she almost falls when her mother sacrifices herself...
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So death is near.
And two things can explain it :
Fami is bent over to symbolize the fact that Chainsaw Man has been chosen over his peaceful life.
The chapter again emphasizes that Asa can save Chainsaw Man by attacking Chainsaw Man, because Chainsaw Man prevents Denji from having access to his peaceful life, hence the fact that Fami is bent over.
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But let's think about it another way: in chapter 155, Denji emphasized the fact that he didn't know what a family was, having committed patricide, how could he possibly understand this notion?
Denji killed his father, his brother, his sister died for him...
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So Chainsaw Man has always put his family at risk, which seems logical given everything we've said.
But remember that in this same chapter, we found an answer: Chainsaw Man is an empty shell filled with the people he loves, his family, and his aim is to protect them.
When Denji says he wants to be Chainsaw Man, it's to protect his family, who fill him as an empty shell.
When Fami says we must kill Chainsaw Man to save him, she's right.
Maybe not because there are 2 Chainsaw Man, since Pochita and Denji are inseparable.
But because to protect what has filled Chainsaw Man's heart, you have to kill the source of his misfortune, himself.
And that's why it all works, even if Fami's two earrings are cables, because even killing Chainsaw Man, the empty shell, saves what filled it - his family.
That's why Asa falls, because the end and Denji's sacrifice are close at hand.
But second interpretation.
Remember, when Asa falls, it means that death is near. So.................. who's next to her?
Obviously, this is pure theory, but I find it amusing.
Why does Fami only show one side? Because she didn't present herself well.
If Fami has insisted on anything from the start, it's that we call it Fami, not Famine. Why is that? Because she renamed herself just as quickly as Yoru did, choosing a name that hid her true identity.
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Remember how Yoshida told her she was terrible at choosing names, to which Fami retorted that she didn't care if anyone found out who she was?
Is that really the case? Wasn't it to reinforce the fact that she was supposedly the devil of famine?
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The first time Fami appears, in Asa's school, she introduces herself as the war devil's big sister (= true), which she does again at the aquarium, introducing herself as the famine demon (= false), called Fami (= true).
But as we've seen, you can lie about a devil's name, just as Fami did with the fire demon, presenting him as the devil of justice.
So what's to stop her from lying about the fear she represents too?
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I know it sounds crazy, but what happened when the devil of eternity appeared? People were hungry!
And the first time Fami didn't intervene, the more time passed, the more the hunger grew, the stronger the demon seemed to become.
What's to stop the devil of eternity being the devil of famine?
You : "it's a tactic for Fami to use the power of the demon of eternity to starve them out". Yes it's true! But my theory about the wrong choice of devil names is possible too. The trick is not to say that what's been presented to us doesn't work, but to try and question it.
The famine devil falsely called the devil of eternity could be defeated by Denji twice: in part 1, because he had overcome the famine by becoming a public hunter
In part 2, because he fed Asa!
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If Fami has insisted on anything from the start, it's that we call her Fami, not Famine. Why is that? Because she renamed herself just as quickly as Yoru did, choosing a name that hid her true identity : the Death Devil.
So, since the answers lie in what we can't see, what's stopping Fami from tripping Asa?
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Which explains Asa's shocked face.
But above all, it implies that his fall was not an unintentional one, as it always is when death is near, but that it was caused by death.
So if we line up the interpretations: death doesn't want mankind to disappear.
How do I know this?
Because she said so! She loves pizzas.
Death wants to kill Chainsaw Man to remain the sole end of beings. To stop it, all you have to do is eat her.
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unpretty · 5 months
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da shillzone
just gonna make a fucking. megapost of affiliate and referral links for anyone who wants to support me and also get deals or whatever. i'm gonna try to be pretty clear about what i get for things also.
you get a thing, i get a thing:
Everand, formerly Scribd: read 'unlimited' (ish) books, use my link to get two free months and I also get a free month.
Mubi: it's not movies, it's cinema (it's movies). Use my link and we both get a free month.
Reel Paper: it's bamboo toilet paper with no plastic packaging and so far it's been the only one I like. It's a subscription and also spendy compared to regular toilet paper but I'm spoiled now. Use my link and we both get $15 off.
MeUndies: it's the fucking podcast underwear. I know. I know. They had a Halloween collection and I'm weak. It's so comfy I'm mad about it. Use my link and you get 20% off your first order, I get a $20 credit, enough to buy One Whole Underwear.
Unique Vintage: it's clothes, I like the collabs and am still mad about missing out on the Pusheen skirt. Don't buy anything full price imho, quality can vary WILDLY. My link will get you $10 off a $75 order and I get a $10 credit. Not the best deal but whatever.
YNAB: I was spending too much money on podcast underwear so I signed up for You Need A Budget to trick me into thinking money is real. So far it is the first thing to have ever successfully tricked me into treating money as real, and my debt situation has improved exponentially. It's $15 a month or $99 a year and my link gets you a free month, if you sign up after the trial I also get a free month.
ProtonMail: privacy-focused alternative to gmail, switching is easy peasy and it's free. Use my link to get a free month of the fancy paid version, and if you decide to sign up I get $10 off my renewal (because I pay for the fancy version).
i get straight cash:
Humble Bundle and the Humble Store: use my link to buy some video games or book bundles and I get a cut. Signing up for Humble Choice after clicking my link also gets me paid. This is literally the only referral program that pays me worth a damn.
the amazon quarantine:
amazon sucks and doesn't pay for shit except 'bounties' so ignoring all of this is fine actually. i get pennies for most things. it's bad.
Here's the fucking. 'influencer page' that Amazon gave me. I don't really know how it works. Anyway the rest of this is bounties.
You can use SNAP EBT on Amazon, apparently if you register a card using my link I get five bucks.
Audible Plus, if you use my link and sign up for a free trial I get $5 and if you actually pay I get another $10.
Audible Premium Plus is the same deal.
Amazon Prime Video, I get $3 if you sign up for a free trial.
Audible Gift Subscription, buy one for someone and I get either $8 or $10 depending on whether it's 12 months or not.
non-referral gifts:
maybe you would rather just send me a dollar or some cookies or whatever so i'll put all that here
I've got tipping enabled on this post lmao
Here's my ko-fi
Here's my Amazon wishlist, I have the occasional expensive thing on there because I also use it for things I plan to buy myself eventually
Here's my Throne, I have surprise gifts enabled so in theory you can send me random weird shit as a prank if that's something that appeals to you
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insomniac-arrest · 1 year
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a lot of reddit threads mention Goncharov as proof of the multiverse theory, but don’t bother to brush up on their cinema history where it was common practice to go in and edit film reels in the 70s post-release. Yes, in some versions we remember the grandfather clock scene where it’s revealed Katya survived the boat having faked her own death only to be reborn as the same woman she wished to escape from in the first place. The ending is bittersweet and she appears miserable and alone with a lot of wide shots, she survived but only by using the same tactics as before, she’s stopped in time trying to save both herself and the ideal version of her that is worthy of adoration and love from others, but she can never have both.
In other versions, we stay in Goncharov’s POV and are left to believe Katya is really gone, we refocus on his guilt over choosing loyalty and pride instead of the escapism of a life Katya supposedly offered post-war. However, he knows at this point who he is and how there was no other outcome, not really. And now we, the audience, do too which is why he turns his face away from the camera during his own grandfather clock scene. This version is why some categorize the movie as “mangst, the erotizing,” but Scorsese makes an interesting choice by showing where Katya should be in his life-- he lingers by her chair only for us to remember her burning cigarette holes in that same chair earlier; she could never be his home in the same way he would always choose his pride.
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radioactivemelody · 7 months
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After a long, excruciating wait, our suffering shall end. I literally woke up with this trailer being shown EVERYWHERE. 
And it is only natural for me to analyze frame by frame because I'm so, so hyped today. So, let's get into it.
Understanding the new trailer
The trailer opens with a phone call and what appears to be a young girl talking to Homura.
The entire sequence makes me understand that the Magical Girls knows, at some point, what Homura did. They are aware she isn't their Law of Cycles, asking if she can accept the risks and responsibilities.
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Now, the risks and responsibilities of what? Of being essentially the replacements for what Madoka Kaname, the Law of Cycles, was? The salvation of all Magical Girls?
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Which is promptly replied by Homura, who asks if they can fight against the curse of this world? I still haven't understood what she meant with that. The curse of this world? The witches, perhaps? But she says "curse", not "curses" as in plural. It is just one, singular curse.
Walpurgisnacht.
And then, the trailer begins to show a black and white sequence of Homura. Only Homura, from the anime to the last movie, Rebellion. The voice says there is only one thing she can do and that's love. They call her "Akuma-san", which translates to "Devil".
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This part here intrigues me the most. They say she is a Magical Girl they don't know. And keep asking to bring hope, just bring hope, release that girl.
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Which strengths my previously mentioned theory. The Magical Girls from the new world appear to have some type of acknowledgement that Homura isn't the Law of Cycles from before. They are asking for her to bring hope back. To bring Madoka back, thus, asking, demanding for her to release that girl. Release Madoka back so she can return to being the Law of Cycles.
They know Homura isn't their savior, that she is a false god who took the place from their true, original goddess and savior. And maybe, they might rally to overthrow her and put Madoka back in her place.
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Look how Madoka's name is inside quotation marks. We kind of know post-Rebellion Madoka is just a Madoka without her memories of being a goddess, helpless to fight back because Homura keeps beaming her with a memory-wiping laser. This Madoka is not the original Madoka, just a shell, a reflection of what Homura desires her to be.
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…A new Magical Girl? She wields Homura's bow after Madoka's divine ascension, her outfit resembles Homura's and has Mami's ribbons. What the hell is going over here? I saw someone saying that it might be an artificially created Magical Girl by Homura in order to defeat Walpurgisnacht but honestly, I have NO idea.
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This frame in particular. Homura's uniform is a tad different from what we are accustomed to see. Also, the umbrella. It resembles way too much the bottom part of Walpurgisnacht's dress. I might be reading it in a nonsensical way but look, the movie is called Walpurgisnacht: Rising, everything counts at this point.
And just like Rebellion, this movie will be gorgeous in the visual aspect.
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Aside from everyone getting some improvement in their outfits, we have Sayaka. Oh, Sayaka. She has ribbons(?) in her mouth.
When Homura became the Devil, remember who was the first person from the quartet to see her? Exactly, Sayaka did. In a way, Sayaka is the bearer of the truth. She knows the world they're living in is fake. She knows what happened to Madoka. And yet, she can't propagate the truth. Not even to herself because she can't remember.
Those ribbons in her mouth might symbolize the fact Homura silenced her from telling the truth. And if they end up remembering, she is going to be the first.
Everyone talks about a confrontation between Madoka and Homura but let me enlighten you: a confrontation between Homura and Sayaka. Scene absolutely worthy of every Oscar ever known. This is true cinema.
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AND THE CLARA DOLLS ARE BACK!!! And in this scene we have three of them. I tried to identificate them but due to the "simplism" of them, it's kind of hard but hey, I tried! I might be wrong but anyways.
From left to right: Manuke (stupid-looking), Usotsuki (liar) e Warukuchi (slanderer).
Considering the Clara Dolls represent Homura's emotions and flaws… Yeah, our girl is suffering. Prepare for another movie that will wrench your heart beyond recognition.
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deblklesb · 1 year
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Lights, Camera, Action! — Abby × Reader × Ellie Oneshot
[established relationship (abby x reader), ellie is their friend, MDNI]
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cw: name calling, mentions/descriptions of sex tapes and its contents, kinda pervy characters (?? i guess, idk), beginning of threesome, ellie centered
word count: 3.2k | not proof read
a/n: so this was..... something. i decided to leave it there, i couldn't write anything more due to the amount of college demands but i sure had fun while i could write it!! hope y'all enjoy it, like and reblog! (p.s.: I'm posting it in a rush i should be sleeping by now bc i have to wake up in some hours but i absolutely will answer the asks you've sent me!! i love them, thank y'all for being so nice and sweet! please take care!)
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This was a very tricky situation, and Ellie kept thinking to herself how the fuck did she got stuck into it. If you asked her she would be able to answer that, actually, but thinking back, it wasn't a good idea. Not when she felt so massively attracted to both you and Abby. 
Now the full video rolling in front of her, on her computer, made a hard blush possess her freckled face. Hands shaking a little bit, stomach twirling, sweat dripping down her back as she heard your moans for the millionth time that night and saw Abby's tongue lapping your wet pussy over and over. She didn't know if she wanted to be you or her, both scenarios seemed too good to be true. The way her heart beat so hard together with her own cunt pulsing. 
See, Ellie took some cinema introduction classes. Theory and a bit of practice too. And her friends, who were dating for more than a year now, asked her to film them a sex tape. 
"W-what?!", the brunette almost choked with her sandwich, coffing furiously to escape that question. 
You handed her the juice box, waiting patiently for her reaction to double down. When her green eyes laid on you with astonishment still, you got into how you and Abby wanted to record some sort of sex tape, to keep it to yourselves anyway. 
"And why are you asking me?!"
"Because you're the most qualified for this job", you shrugged like it was nothing. Like you didn't just ask Ellie to watch her two friends having sex, fueled by the fact that someone was recording it. "Besides, we trust you!" 
"... This is crazy, d'you know that?" 
"We'll handle it. Don't kinkshame" She gulped after Abby's words and the way you eyed her. 
Kinkshame you? Little did you know that she was doing it to herself. 
During the filming, she nearly fainted. It took her a lot of strength to keep the camera steady and her hard breaths contained so it didn't come into the recording. Although a microphone stood next to the bed, the device on her hands still captured sound. 
Sweating and working hard to ignore the growing wetness inside her pants, she didn't want to seem like some kind of pervert. You both trusted her for this, and so looking like some aroused observer wasn't right. Needing to keep professional - was that the word you used? - and not in the slightest horny as fuck. 
She saw how Abby ate you out, and wanted to be there. Saw how you humped your girlfriend's thigh, and wanted to be there. Her hand itched to touch your flesh as you were sitting on Abby's face, and to grab Abby's hair while she moaned due to your tongue on her pussy. It was pure madness.
She walked away from that apartment with legs so weak she was surprised she didn't fall. And to her embarrassment, she touched herself and came so hard on her bed, imagining you both together. Feeling bad afterwards, but not enough to stop thinking about all the things she saw. 
And now, two days later, here she was. Editing the recording in order to make this an incredible sex tape, the best to ever exist. She used a mobile camera, but also two others from different angles, so there was a lot of material to organize and synchronize, crop and assemble. 
She needed to take some time to calm herself, but before she could actually do it there was a knock on her door. Her hand flew to the notebook faster than ever, putting the screen down almost entirely while her door opened to show her friend and roommate. 
"Hey, me and Jess are going to order pizza. Want some?", Dina asked, resting on the door. 
"Uh- yeah, sure" Ellie nodded, gulping and looking around like she was caught in the middle of something forbidden. 
"Why do you look like you're doing some shit?" Her face warmed when your moan sounded on her headphone again. 
At this point she already knew what was happening on the video: Abby had you legs open on the bed, rubbing her pussy against yours. The image was sinful, but oh so beautiful. 
"I'm doing nothing", the freckled girl closed the computer, now interrupting the video. "Or something. I-I mean, anything could be some shit. What are you talking about?"
"Ellie" her friend's smile was slick, Dina knew just how to make the woman want to disappear from the Earth. "Were you watching porn?"
"N-no!", yes. Yes she was. That was definitely some filthy porn. Not because it had extreme content, but just the fact that it was her friends and crushes there, made her feel a hundred percent more aroused. "Shut up, Dina!" 
"Don't have to be so defensive about it", she laughed with hands in the air, watching as Ellie got up from the bed.
"Whatever, let's go eat, get out of my room"
Jesse heard the two of them arguing whilst coming from the bedroom, Ellie with her face so red it could almost be confused by a sunburn and Dina clacking. 
"Ellie was watching porn!"
"I was not! What are you, fucking six?!" 
・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・
Hands sweating and head full of conflictual thoughts, the brunette walked into the cafeteria holding her backpack so tight it seemed like she was carrying something illegal. She had an itch on the nape, an impression that everyone there knew exactly what she did.
Pretty sure that ginger girl knew Ellie got off on the memories of that day and the video, on the vision of Abby biting her lips as you pressed her swollen clit-
"Ellie!", she snapped out of trance with your voice, looking aerial in front of you and Abby. "Is everything okay?" 
"You look like there's somebody stalking you", Abby frowned, eyeing the surroundings. 
"No, it's fine, I'm just… Tired", well, that wasn't a lie since she had to stay awake to finish the editing after the college assignments. 
"Did we bother you? I told you there was no need to rush, we could wait", you rested a hand on hers across the table after she sat, and all she could think was how your palms were soft and comfortably warm. 
"Nah, it's cool. I just left things to the last minute so I hurried as much as I could"
And after all she wouldn't survive editing the video for one more night; might as well explode. 
The vision of Abby's fingers loosely resting on your shoulder made her remember the way they invaded your pussy, fitting so perfectly there, enough to make you moan and call her name. 
Ellie took the pen-drive from the inside pocket of her backpack and put it on the table in front of the couple, letting go like touching it made her skin burn. 
"All edited, boss", she smiled as best as she could, hiding the desire to beg you both for something very explicit. "Enjoy the watch"
"Thanks, Els!", you smiled back with a lot of excitement, so beautifully, picking up the small object. "We would invite you to watch, but I guess you haven't forgotten, since you were there and had to see it again to edit."
Ellie froze. 
What did you just say? 
Her mind went blank after the mere possibility of sitting on your couch next to the both of you, just fucking watching a video of the most attractive couple having shameless, passionate sex. 
She couldn't even say anything back, which caused Abby to chuckle slightly. Just like if she knew you were doing something devious. 
"W-what-... I- I mean, I had to watch it again but I don't think I remember that clearly-", she stumbled on her words, trying to revert whatever impressions she may have passed. Shit, did you know? 
"Damn, was it that bad?" Abby snorted out, an eyebrow going up. 
"No! No-, it was great, it was amazing, I just don't think I, like, remember every single detail or something like that." That was a lie, she absolutely remembered. 
"Huh. So would you want to come over to watch it with us? I mean, we need to give you feedback for your hard work, right?", you rested the chin on a hand, eyeing her with so much glee in your orbs that Ellie couldn't tell what the fuck did that mean. 
"Sure, right! Yeah, feedback would be nice. To see if my work was good and all, guess I could use that", she couldn't care less about feedback. 
"Unless you're already tired of seeing it, it would be comprehensible. Or if it's awkward somehow…", the blonde gestured softly, her voice sounding so good. Ellie was so distracted by the anxiety and the accumulated tension that she didn't even notice how you both were satisfied with her answers, guiding her through a sinuous path into a trap. 
"No! I will definitely be there, absolutely cool. Nice. Good shit", she kept nodding back, taking a laugh from you now. 
"Okay! Seven?" 
"Lucky number!" Her smile was weak and she made finger guns. Fucking finger guns?, she asked herself.
"Yeah, I hope we have some luck for sure", Abby said, smiling. 
・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・
"Dina, I will fucking die!" Ellie was almost screaming in the middle of the street, phone against her ear whilst she walked to the building you and Abby lived in. 
"Could you chill a little bit?! It's just a movie! I know you're like head over four heels for them, but you've done this before. You'll get in, watch it, laugh, eat something, hang out. And then you'll come home"
"But it's not just a regular movie, it's-", she sighed and stopped on her tracks. Hiding was tiring as fuck, but she didn't know if she could tell someone, that was intimate. "Fuck, I need to breathe"
"That's what I'm saying" 
"Right. Thanks, guess I'll just hang out, watch something, whatever you just said" 
"Just be yourself, honey! You will do great! Jesse, tell Ellie she will do great" 
"You got this, Els. Whatever happens, we'll have pizza when you come back" 
"Yeah… Thanks, guys", the brunette smiled even though they couldn't see it, getting closer to the building. "I have to go, just got here" 
"If you kiss them, message me right away!"
"I won't stop kissing them just to tell you"
"You'll definitely stop it to jump around and do a victory dance, might as well message me" 
"Shut up", she chuckled and said goodbye before turning off. 
With a last sigh, Ellie pressed the button to your apartment and waited for you to pick up after the buzz. Instead, the gate just unlocked with a loud noise, neither of you needed to answer the buzz to know it was her. The brunette entered the building, heart pounding. 
"Hey, Ells!", you greeted her with that sweet smile of yours, hugging her briefly. All she could think about was how good you smelled, and how that pijama shorts left little to imagination - well, she knew what was underneath it, after all. Still… "Come on, Abs was just setting up the TV"
"Oh-, alredy?", you pulled her by the hand and closed the door, leading the way to the living room she already knew so well after hanging out there so many times. 
"We're excited to see the effects of your amazing classes", Abby smirked, winking at Ellie with those beautiful eyes. She was wearing a simple shirt and sweatshorts, exposing those strong legs. It looked so sexy in an inexplicable way. 
The three of you sat on the couch, you in between. Your legs rested on the blonde's thighs, large shirt covering the small pijama shorts. Contrasting, Ellie had pants and a flanel on. 
The filming was very good, technically speaking. But even the most layman could notice how the mobile camera had not only an open view, but also focused on intimate aspects of the situation. 
A long shot of you and Abby kissing passionately. Strong hands caressing your body and bringing back close memories of her touch. Abby bit your chin, and Ellie made sure to record closely her trail of kisses on your exposed neck. 
There was also a close shot of your bodies approaching more and more, legs tangling, Abby's strong thigh between yours as you started to move and rub your core there with a tortuous rhythm. 
Ellie's face started to warm again, she gripped the arm of the couch when you moan reverberated, as Abby palmed your breast and bit your neck slightly. 
The minutes passed and you felt yourself getting hotter. Your girlfriends fingers resting on your leg made you squirm. 
"I like the way you focused on the closeness", Abby said, getting a hum from the brunette next to you. "It almost feels like you're trying to connect with the moment."
Ellie gulped, a wetness distinctble on her pants. 
As the film goes on, the Miller girl tried her best not to move, thinking that it would hide her aroused situation but only making more obvious for you how she felt. The small biting of her lip also caught your attention, as her emerald eyes locked on the screen, where you had legs open with Abby's hand making circling moves on your clit, while you both kissed. 
Fuck, you felt the way your nipples were hardening right now, just thinking about how Ellie could've felt while editing that. 
Abby tried her best not to fuck you right then and there, knowing just how Ellie felt about the view. 
It was definitely a maddening situation for the three of you. 
When you were moving your hips with euphoria, looking for that righ, moaning against your girlfriend's delicious lips on film, Ellie finally got up suddenly. 
"I-... Have to go to the bathroom", as all she could say, before almost running into said place. 
You and Abby hear the door closing, and finally you could let go a deep breath and hold tightly on the shirt Abby wore. 
"I don't know if I can wait much more", you murmured. Her fingers trailed up to the middle of your thighs, you separating them a bit to welcome her there. The film was still on, and it made everything more intense. 
"Wanna get going?", the way she smiled had you weak, squirming while she pressed your cunt.
Inside the bathroom, Ellie rested her hands on the sink and breathed deeply, trying to calm herself. She could swear she saw you by the peripheral view, smiling while looking at her. Like everything since the first night after filming, she had to convince herself it was just paranoia. 
"It's okay, Ellie. They didn't notice. You can do this", she murmured. 
Washing her face and breathing deeply again, she finally got out after drying herself and doing nothing about the wetness between her legs. 
Turning off the bathroom lights, she thought a small moan she heard was kinda different, but the confirmation only came when she reached the living room again and saw you on top of Abby - not on the TV, though. 
You were literally sitting on her lap, the shorts on the ground and a strong hand pressing your cunt above the pantie's fabric. Muffled moanings came between the kiss you both shared, just like the ones Ellie heard. 
"Uh- I think I'mma get going, I don't want to-", her face was so hot and she probably was trembling. Her body urged not to go, but the rational part of her brain was judging her for standing there even though she just said she would go. 
"Ellie-", you called her. 
You moaned her name. 
Her core clenched around nothing, pleading for her to go and touch the both of you. 
Abby looked over your shoulder and used the free hand to slap your ass, bringing a louder moan followed by the - literally - pornographic sounds on TV. 
That had to be a fucking dream, right? You couldn't possibly be asking for her to do something, right? 
Right? 
"I guess we scared her, princess", the blonde said, smirking. 
"I thought you liked seeing us, Els", you declared while moving the hips on Abby's hand. 
And then it hit her. 
It was all a fucking trap. 
You knew exactly what she thought. Asking her to film you both having sex was no coincidence, not an occasional situation that so happened to have Ellie included, it was deliberated. Fuck, you were exhibiting yourselves to her and she fell like a moth hipnotized by the beautiful flame. 
"Fuck, since when you've been planning this?", the brunette murmured, walking slowly towards the couch again. On the TV, Abby slapped your pussy as you came hard and drenched. 
You felt a chill running down your spine as Ellie's slender fingers touched your shoulder, going up to your neck. Abby watched in awe as you had the hair being pulled slightly to look up, Ellie was testing the waters. 
"This shit has been planned since the beginning?"
"Did you touch yourself looking at us later?", you asked, riding harder. Abby kissed your exposed neck, grabbing your ass while the other hand rubbed your pussy intensively. Green eyes filled with lust analized your features. 
"Did you fuck yourselves thinking about me?" 
Your smile was slick and you wanted to come so bad. The sounds from the video made you even hornier, needing to surrender completely. 
Ellie did something she wanted to do for a long time: she kissed you. And it was intoxicating. Consuming her being from head to toes, oh, it lit a fire inside. It was messy and urgent, and when you both separated her lips were moisty. Then, she pulled Abby by the braid and did the same, their kiss being a bit more slow but not less intense; the gasoline that made the fire grow. 
"Please, Els…", your voice came out whiney. 
"She's been desperate for you", Abby chuckled with disdain, caressing your ass still partially clothed by the panties. "Almost begged me to fuck her in front of you today" 
"Really?", the question wasn't for you, but you nodded. "I thought she was less of a whore"
After the video, she knew how you liked to be treated. And to be pretty honest, it matched what she loved herself. 
"I'm gonna taste you, sweetie. Can I?", her fingers caressed your face, contrasting with the way you were humping hard Abby's hand. Nodding again, you started to feel more and more excited with the sounds from the TV. 
"Shit, baby, your pretty cunt looks so good", Abby's voice filled the room from the video, you knew that was the part she made you sit on her face. 
Ellie kneeled behind you, between Abby's spread legs. The blonde had a blushed face and breath hard, still touching you and having a hard time deciding where to look. She was wet, incredibly wet, and her pussy was aching. 
"After that, I wanna taste you, Abs", Ellie's voice made her squirm and slap your ass again. 
It was all so mind blowing. Her touches snake on your back, under the shirt, feeling your skin while she kisses your ass and hips. You stopped the movements, receiving Abby's lips on yours again as Ellie worshiped you. She grabbed your tits and bit your ass, causing you to sigh and smirk between the kiss. The temperature of the room rose. 
"Get up and take these", she was referring to your panties, which she pulled just so it could snap back on your ass. 
"And then sit back on my lap and watch the tape with me while Ellie tastes your cunt", Abby completed, grimacing with the wetness growing between her legs. 
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[dividers by @luvchaewon and @froopis]
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catpriciousmarjara · 9 months
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Tell me: Is He Gay or In a Sherwani?
Imposition of western norms in fandom analysis of Asian characters
With the rising popularity of Indian cinema sparked by the recent success of RRR on international platforms as well as the easy availability of multiple streaming services, in addition to the appearance of South Asian characters in prominent roles in western, particularly US media, I've begun to see some concerning 'analysis' posts online. So I thought I'd address something I found common in most of these takes.
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Guys, characterizing your blorbos as queer is great and all, love it, but you're making a fundamental mistake by making their clothing choices the foundation for your queer headcanons, especially when it comes to male characters. Do not apply existing western cultural ideas regarding male clothing onto South Asian characters and their dressing please.
The vast majority of the clothes being used by people in various online spaces as 'evidence' of a character being queer(gay or bi mostly) are just normal Indian clothing for men, like daily wear. A top being pink or a character's wardrobe being mostly pastel means absolutely nothing...cos Indian clothing tends to be colourful in general and the tendency to ascribe colours masculine and feminine qualities is considerably less in the subcontinent. I'm not saying it doesn't exist, but generally not a concern.
There's also this pervasive idea that colourful clothing = flamboyance = queer and that itself is something many people have already pointed as a deeply flawed way of thinking and a stereotype. Furthermore, even if you do lean into the archetype of queer men being flamboyant, subscribing to the 'stereotypes exist for a reason don't they?' school of thought perhaps, there's also the fact that ideas of what is considered flamboyant change dramatically across different cultures. What is 'flamboyant' for someone might just be normal for others. Like maybe pink or purple or yellow might be considered too much, unmanly, emasculating etc in the US or something but they're just perfectly normal colours for men to wear in many, many cultures.
It's the 'Is he Gay or European?' principle. Did you characterize this Indian character (or any South Asian character really) as queer because of their canonical behaviour and portrayal, or did you just see their clothing and decide they're queer because being well groomed and having a colourful wardrobe is a character trait you exclusively ascribe to being queer?
Like guys, I like Chaipunk like the rest of you, but if you consider Pavitr queer just because his costume is a lot fancier than the others' (An actual take I've seen multiple times) without taking into account his cultural background....¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Let me make this clear, I don't think people need a ten page analysis to imagine their fave as queer. Headcanoning a character as queer can have any reason ranging from 'I said so and so it is' to 'this is my light character analysis that makes a masters thesis look shabby' and they're all valid and an integral part of the fandom experience. What I am annoyed at are these so-called 'well-researched' theories that did not make the slightest effort to look into South Asian culture and simply transposed their western bias onto Indian media and confidently make flat out wrong judgements and mislead other people. Clothing based sexual identity determinism is the least of it. That I can at least understand through the lens of a habitual process built through years of analyzing crumbs of queer representation available only through queer coded characters and symbolism such as clothing choices being the only way to see an aspect of yourself portrayed in an aggressively heteronormative media ecosystem. I do that too, because media is tragically heteronormative everywhere. But the rest? Its just straight up misinformation and misrepresentation touted as truth.
Its the same with relationships between men. There are plenty of cultures where skinship between men is not unusual and dynamics and nuances tend to be vastly different from western representations of male friendships. In xianxia and wuxia fandoms you can see this same problem in a different font when outsiders, most often the western side of the fandom, try to apply their own standards and morals onto the original work and try to interpret it through a lens it was never supposed to be interpreted through in the first place, except maybe for comparative analysis. This practice itself isn't a major problem, its natural for people to apply what is familiar to them to try and understand something new. But when this is also accompanied by them foisting their personal interpretation and analysis as the 'correct' one and trying to impose it on the fandom as a whole, it escalates into a powder keg situation as you can imagine.
Again, not saying that western parts of fandoms are the root of all evil or anything like that, gods know how toxic netizens can be. But in this specific situation, where people try to impose western ideals on to non-western content and assumes the universalism of their own principles and value systems? Indeed an issue to be addressed.
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thepradapariah · 2 years
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Your Rising Sign ✨. The Male Gaze 👀. & Female Character Movie/TV Tropes 📺.
Are you the manic pixie dream girl or the femme fatale?!
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Astro Observations 🪐
Using Movies & TV shows, I’ll be talking about observations I’ve made about rising signs! This is just my opinion! You are more than welcome to share your thoughts in the comment section!
(If you know your sidereal Rising Sign Naksaktra EVEN BETTER!)
Disclaimer:
BARE WITH ME HERE!!! This post is written in a VERY generalized way. I am not trying to be exclusionary at all! I want this to be a fun post about movies & astrology. Please be creative with your pronouns if needed! This post is for anyone who wants to read it, no matter your gender or preference, but it will be written in traditional cis-gender fashion, BUT!!!!! I have tried to incorporate all female identifying communities within the examples! I hope there is something for everyone :)
Before we begin:
Definitions:
✨What is the Male Gaze?
“In feminist theory, the male gaze is the act of depicting women and the world, in the visual arts and in literature, from a masculine, heterosexual perspective that presents and represents women as sexual objects for the pleasure of the heterosexual male viewer. In the visual and aesthetic presentations of narrative cinema, the male gaze has three perspectives: (i) that of the man behind the camera, (ii) that of the male characters within the film's cinematic representations; and (iii) that of the spectator gazing at the image.” — Wikipedia
✨What is a Character trope?
“A trope is an idea, pattern or motif that appears often enough in a particular art form that consumers of that art form begin to form particular associations with that idea.” - The Novel Factory
Introduction:
Men tend to be VERY simple creatures. Yes, they may present themselves as the broody artist w a checkered past or a sci-fi-nerdy-glasses-wearing-type fellow who LOVES Star Wars & Comic-Con. But believe it not, both these men have something in common…Their simplicity. Most men see life in black & white. They tend to take things at face value & rarely feel the need to dig deeper into something unless they are called to. This is not to over generalize (or perhaps that’s exactly what this is) but to draw attention to the straight forward attitude men usually have towards life. (I blame this on their primal hunter/gathering nature, but that’s another topic for another day). Men tend to prefer life & communication to be clear & concise, whereas woman tend to be far more “colorful” in our approach. We don’t spare any details when talking w our girlfriends about the latest gossip as if it’s our life’s duty, where men can sit in silence, playing video games & be perfectly content. In fact, I learned in sociology, that men can actually have ZERO brain activity happening at times (besides the automatic stuff, like breathing lol). Meaning— men can actually sit & think about nothing. Women, not so much, we are constantly stimulated, thinking & planning ahead. Because of this cosmically cerebral mis-match, the way men & woman tend to view each other can be a point of contention. Woman tend to over complicate men & men tend to over simplify woman. Thus giving us the ongoing battle of real complex female characters VS. the over simplified version of them through the Male Gaze. Do men think woman just sit around playing in make-up & fashion, bursting out into random tears & having pillow fights all day? If you ask Hollywood— probably. In this post, we will be specifically looking at how men over simplify woman using Movie/TV tropes & comparing them to the display of our rising sign, &/or if you know it, your rising Nakshatra.
You should know, that before I got into tarot & astrology, I graduated from the film school at New York University. So I am WELL AWARE of the film/tv writing process & thought this would be a cool way to combine my education of films & my love for astrology to teach & critique how woman tend to be represented in Cinema & Television— and in return, real life. (Art meets Life, amiright?)
There has been a discourse in the film & tv world about how woman are represented through the male gaze. I’m sure you’ve heard of the “manic pixie dream girl” trope over saturating the market right now. (Don’t worry, we will get into this later). Woman feel as if these are shallow representations of the feminine experience. While I agree with this statement, usually we don’t see very fleshed out, complex & interesting woman from male writers. (*cough cough* Euphoria Season 2.) I’m arguing here that until we form deep & intimate connections with men, they tend to see us, woman, as these movie tropes, IRL (in real life). If you don’t understand what I’m saying, hang in there w me.
Because men tend to be simple & take things at face value, they can miss out on the nuances of the woman they are with. How many times have we seen in movies a wife gets a haircut & the husband doesn’t notice? See, no eye for detail, or subtlety. Those small details that make us unique from other woman tends to go over their heads from time to time. And in a day in age where woman are generalized more on a mass scale through social media, it’s easy for men to get carried away thinking woman are all the same or simply, just not that complicated. This isn’t a bad thing, per say, this is just the default until we are able to build a lasting, deep connection between masculine & feminine energy.
In this post, we are going to be breaking down this “conundrum” by RISING SIGNS/1H/Nakshatras. Why? Because the rising sign is how you are seen in the world. The first house rules the body, & what people project on to you as well as what you project onto other people. (The beauty of the 1H/7H axis…more about this later) As a sidereal astrology girly, I think the first house/Rising Sign Nakshatra rules the personality more so than the sun & moon sign. After all, it is called “person”-ality, & the 1H is the house of person, whereas the 7H is the house of partner.
✨Why Does this Matter?
Well first off, it matters how much you want it to matter. This post is for inspiring self expression. By seeing how you effortlessly come across through the male gaze, you may be able to craft your own unique persona or perfect one of these tropes. I am not writing this post because you have to see yourself the way men see you or over simplify yourself while getting to know someone, I’m writing this to give you some indication of HOW men see you so you can put on a SHOW! I’m hoping this gives you the encouragement to take your narrative into your own hands & present your femininity in a way that’s true & authentic to you. I am an absolute FAN of these female tropes. Movies & tv shows have helped me curate the kind of woman I want to come across as. Nothing like seeing a great character on TV that you want to emulate. We all have the ability to play pretend. Look at using the male gaze as a game of dress-up. You can ALWAYS play the part in the ever going Hollywood Film— Your Life.
✨What is the First House?
The first house is the house of first impressions— the cover of the book men are judging.
Because your first house is home to your rising sign, to put it simply, the first house is how you come off to others at first glance. Even though I’m sure you’re a beautiful, complex & intriguing creature, for the sake of this article, we are looking at the first house through a “shallow” perspective. You may feel as if these descriptions don’t fit you at all, in fact, you may feel like this is the total opposite of who you actually are! (Blame the contradiction of 1H/7H axis for this one) However it’s not about how you feel, it’s about how you come across…
Read this article as if you are your crush meeting you for the first time. (Read that again, very meta, I know). The Male Gaze in movies/tv has been argued to be lazy & uninspired writing. I personally think that’s just the male gaze in general. I kid, I kid. Lol. But seriously…they are very simple minded, so we can use this to our advantage to give some of the best performances of our lives!
***If you are reading for your Sidereal Vedic Rising (which is HIGHLY suggest), please look up the degree, so you can read for the specific Nakshatra)
(If you are a man reading this, I don’t mean to drag you. We all know the childhood fact, Men are from Mars & Woman are from Venus. Lol.)
Through the Male Gaze, we will be breaking down how you come off through your rising sign & placements as Classic Movie & TV Character Tropes.
How to Read:
✨IF YOU KNOW YOUR SIDEREAL VEDIC RISING NAKSHATRA: Read that first! That will be the most specific to the trope. (I didn’t double dip, each nakshatra is only used ONCE)
______________
✨If you DON’T know your Sidereal Rising Nakshatra & your reading as a Western/Tropical Girlie———>
✨You can read for the sign in your first house (your rising sign) &/or planets placed in your FIRST OR SEVENTH HOUSE!
✨7H placements cast a direct aspect on your 1H, so if your rising sign doesn’t resonate, check your 7H placements! They have a major influence as well!
✨If you have multiple planets in your 1H &/or 7H, the planet with the LOWEST degree is the dominant planet. Ex: If you have Saturn at 26 degrees and Venus at 2 degrees, you would read the Venus tropes.
✨Unlike men, I’m giving you some flexibility (Lol) Your placements may overlap. For example, if you’re a Pisces Rising— read the blurbs for Manic Pixie Dream Girl & Girl Next Door. One description will probably fit better than the others, but you got options! If you know your sidereal chart for your rising Nakshatra, you’ll get
***There is NO direct correlation between the signs & Naks picked, this is a matter of opinion, so I put what I felt worked!***
Please please please keep in mind, movies & tv characters are larger than life, so please have fun with this post!!! This is over the top!! If you can imagine that you were an old Hollywood glamour queen or a modern cinema starlit, this would be your starring role!!!
⚠️ I do not want to offend ANYONE by using traditional gender pronouns. I am a cis-gender heterosexual female, so I am writing from the perspective I know best. I am NOT trying to say this is the only perspective that matters. I have included cis-woman, trans women & lesbians as examples in this post. Please feel free to share any insights you have, no matter the gender, non-gender or perspective! I’m truly open & supportive. This is not an exclusionary post.
⚠️ SPOILER ALERT!!!! I am using Movies & Television shows as examples, so be prepared!
⚠️ Of course, special shout-out to my little sister! Without her, none of this would be possible!!
On with the Show! 🌹
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💋 Manic Pixie Dream Girl
Nakshatras: Ardra, Punarvasu, Swati, Vishika, Mula
Zodiac: Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces (All Mutable Rising Signs) & Aquarius
Planets: Neptune, Mercury, Jupiter (1st or 7th House, lowest degree)
Tarot Card: Princess of Cups (Earth & Water)
✨Definition
“[The Manic Pixie Dream Girl] exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures… [The MPDG] seems to exist only to provide spiritual or mystical help to the protagonist. The MPDG has no discernible inner life. Instead, her central purpose is to provide the protagonist with important life lessons. “
-Wikipedia (Manic Pixie Dream Girl was coined by Nathan Rabin)
✨The Manic Pixie Dream Girl is arguably THEE female movie trope of the last 40 years in pop culture. As movies moved away from the Bombshell aesthetic of the 1950’s, most notably, Marilyn Monroe; Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s introduced a new kind of woman. (Even her last name, go-lighly is a play on her attitude towards the world) A woman who throws caution to the wind & isn’t afraid to take risk. In fact, this woman LIVES to take risk! She flutters in & flutters out of the Male gaze, usually chasing some wild dream of being a fashion designer, writer, actress ect, OR is a notch above (or under, depending on how you look at it) an aimless sexy hobo. Regardless of her career ambitions, she’s always as creative as she is elusive— yet somehow, is always able to drop into the male’s life right in the knick of time, whisking the male away on some fever-dream like adventures. Encountering the Manic Pixie Dream Girl almost ALWAYS accompanies a spiritual Awakening for our male protagonist. Upon meeting this woman, usually in some weird, “only happens once in a life-time” way, his world gets thrown into a chaotic flurry. Everything he thought he knew he now knows he never knew anything about it at all. He questions life, he questions reason, he question society, capitalism, the “American Dream”, etc. This is BEST demonstrated by Marla (Helena Bonham Carter) in Fight Club, directed by David Fincher. (If you haven’t seen this movie, you MUST (18+), Brad Pitt is at PEAK sexiness…s/o to the Female Gaze lol) Fight Club is a wicked tale of a man fighting himself, society & his own psyche after meeting a woman who mirrored him so closely, it triggered a masculinity awakening. This is the function of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. She is so free, so unbound, so fluid, & feminine, she helps to bring to life the masculine side of a man by reflecting his own inner chaos back to him.
As a Ardra, Punarvasu, Swati, Vishika, Mula Rising or Mutable Rising Sign: Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, or Pisces, this could be one of the ways you appear through the male gaze. Because your temperament & view of life can be so changeable, you can come across as a free-spirit, a loss soul, or a wonderer. Perhaps you are, & perhaps you aren’t, but as quickly as you change a hairstyle, you change your goals in life. The male feels as if he needs to tame you, give you structure, security or direction OR he feels like he wants to join you! Break away from the daily grind of life, break societies expectations of him & rendezvous w you, eating cereal, painting & watching cartoons all day. You can represent a child-like wonder and be the embodiment of the “wild-side” of life! As the mutable rising signs of the Zodiac, you tend to be moody & unpredictable. Through the Male Gaze, men may find it hard to connect with you because you always seem “elsewhere”. You always seem a little dazed, perhaps a little confused, but certainly “pixie” like in your approach to life. To the right male, you are fascinating, like a Jackson Pollock painting (the splatter paint dude) in the works— each stroke improvised, never knowing where the paint is going to land, but intrigued more by your process than the final product.
✨Music:
Female Gaze: Like a Bird- Nelly Furtado
Male Gaze: Sex And Candy- Marcy Playground
✨Examples
Holly Golightly- Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Jules- Euphoria
Summer- 500 Days of summer
Robyn Brooks- High Fidelity
Helena- Fight Club
Cat- Victorious
Issa- Insecure
Raven- That’s So Raven
Bubbles- Powerpuff Girls
Emily- Emily in Paris
Sally Bowles- Cabaret
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💋Ice Queen
Nakshatras: Jyestha, Dhanishta, Uttara Bhadrapada
Zodiacs: Aquarius, Libra, Cancer, Scorpio
Planets: Saturn, Uranus, Moon, Venus
Tarot Card: Queen of Swords (Water & Air)
✨Defintion:
“…Cool, reserved, and giving nothing away. She may want love as ardently as anyone, but she masks her soft heart behind a wall of ice. It is up to someone else, typically her Love Interest, to soften her cold demeanor and win her love.
The Ice Queen is considered dangerous to love because she will not (or cannot) love back. She's not much for friendship either, preferring to be alone.” tvtropes .org
✨The Ice Queen is cold & unforgiving. She IS the resting bitch face personified, unimpressed & unfazed by those around her. Seemingly aloof, the male in the story is always trying to breakthrough her tough and unbothered exterior. Her coldness posses a real challenge to anyone who is interested in her romantically. She’s just a bitch. And a bad one at that! The Ice Queen is stern in her appearance & her approach to life. Usually divorced, or widowed, but doesn’t have to be, she walks as if she carries the weight on the world of her shoulder. She’s been abandoned by happiness in life, but she’s so regal, no one knows how deep her scars cut. She can resemble the Boss Bitch/Diva trope, because she normally holds a lot of power, but she carries a certain detachedness that is unique to this trope. She is NOTHING nice. The Ice Queen is hard to please & has no issues letting people know she’s unsatisfied. The Male wants to “warm her up”, breakthrough her cold exterior & get to know why she is so damn mean! In some cases he succeeds, in others he realized she’s just a mean & shallow as he originally thought. Elvira Hancock in Scarface is the prototype for this feminine character trope. Not only is her nose typically buried nose deep in snow (if you get it, you get it), she’s. a. straight. cold-hearted. biotch. She’s unbelievably gorgeous & unapproachable, & this is exactly what draws the male protagonist in to her. But even after the male “wins her over”, she was never satisfied. An Ice Queen to her CORE, she was never one to be defrosted. Defamed? Maybe…Defrosted…never.
It’s worth noting that the Ice Queen is usually HIGHLY fashionable. Not the cheap stuff either— the Ice Queen is a Queen none the less. She’s not the T-shirt & jeans girl next door, or the purple hairdo manic pixie…she’s class & sophistication. First rule, you gotta be hot to be so cold.
If you are a Jyestha, Dhanishta, Uttara Bhadrapada Rising or an Aquarius, Libra or Cancer Rising, or have Saturn, Uranus, the Moon, or Venus aspecting your first house, you may find that you come across as the Ice Queen through the male gaze. You carry a certain reserved & detached aura upon first meeting someone. Rarely would you put all your cards on the table. There is also a certain maturity that you carry with you when you walk into a room. Men will assume “oh, this girl, she’s been through some stuff”. You may find that you are somewhat withdrawn in social situations, although people may be very drawn to you. You don’t necessarily care about being liked, but you certainly care about being respected. You come off as if you don’t tolerate any kind of messiness. Men may think you play hard to get or that you just think you’re better than the average. Whatever! You don’t care what they think. You’re too busy reading or being an intellectual (whatever that means lol…this is the male gaze we are talking about). Again, to the right egotistical man who believes he can “warm you up”, you are a welcomed and ongoing challenge. The Ice Queen is the female trope of male dissatisfaction. When a Male encounters the Ice Queen in cinema, she tend to represent a part of the male that will NEVER be pleased, content or accepted. Normally the man after this cold woman’s stone-cold heart is trying to prove his worth to the world around him, & the Ice Queen serves as the perfect trophy. If he can impress her/have her, he can impress anyone & have the World! The Ice Queen is the ultimate prize for the male protagonist w ego/self-esteem issues. Nothing humbles a man quite like a cold-hearted bitch. You may find in your dating life, Male’s feel the need to impress you for no good reason..or maybe you enjoy watching men walk on their heads for a date w you! Either way, as the Ice Queen female trope you carry a certain air about you that commands attention & respect. You carry authority over yourself & those around you. The male gaze says although your intimidating, your worth a try to shut down all the haters, even if you’re hater number 1!
✨Music:
Female Gaze: Needed Me- Rihanna
Male Gaze: Roses- OutKast, Cooler than Me- Mike Posner
✨Examples
Elvira Hancock-Scarface
Camille- The Sapranos
Lady Mae Greenleaf- Greenleaf
Elsa- Frozen
Jade- Victorious
Elekta Evangelista- Pose
Claire- House of Cards
Molly- Insecure
Lucille- Arrested Development
Betty Draper- Mad Men
Mother Shannon, House of Balenciaga- Legendary
Cersei Lannister- Game of Thrones
Dominique La Rue- Harlem Nights
Gru’s Mom- Despicable Me
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💋Femme Fatale
Nakshatras: Ashwini, Bharani, Ashlesha, Purva Bhadrapada, Shatabisha
Zodiacs: Aries, Scorpio, Cancer
Planets: Mars, Pluto
Tarot Card: Queen of Wands (Fire & Water)
✨Definition
“A femme fatale,sometimes called a maneater or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype of literature and art. Her ability to enchant, entice and hypnotize her victim with a spell was in the earliest stories seen as verging on supernatural; hence, the femme fatale today is still often described as having a power akin to an enchantress, seductress, witch, having power over men. Femmes fatales are typically villainous, or at least morally ambiguous, and always associated with a sense of mystification, and unease.”
-Wikipedia
✨The Femme Fatale is arguably the most ICONIC of the female movie tropes. A popular trope of Film Noir “movement” in the late 1940s, early 1950s, the Femme Fatale is a sexual seductress with a naughty side. Enchanting as she is dangerous, the male gaze ogles her, even though it may cost him his life— or at least his job & social standing. Medusa is one of the best representations of this trope. If a man locks eyes w her, he’s as good as dead— yet, time & time again, men tried to defeat her, only to meet a tragic end. As time progressed, the story of the woman who turns men to stone (definitely a sexual innuendo if you ask me) found new life in television & film. The Femme Fatale is a beautiful disaster just waiting to happen. She’s wild, like the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, but she has a certain knack for danger and crime. She lures the male in & traps him like a spider in her web. The male is usually a little weary of the woman, but is overcome w her grace & charm, or he’s truly an unsuspecting victim who gets completely taken advantage of an entangled in whatever mess she’s made for herself. One way or the other, the male often ends up in a position of life & death after lusting after this dark & intriguing beauty. The film, Carmen Jones, starring Dorthy Dandridge, is a classic tale of a woman w loose morals who ends up (spoiler alert) dead. Unlike most of the other female tropes, the femme fatale almost always suffers consequences for her actions. She either ends up in jail, or dead, or kills her lover, or he ends up in jail, or her lover ends up dead. Tragic, I know. Again, think of Medusa…she killed everything she laid her eye on, & then ultimately had to be killed. (RIP Medusa, you were a baddie). No one gets out scotch free when dealing w this character. The femme fatale is mysterious, almost like a mythical creature or an enchantress, & the male is instantly drawn into her, whether they exchange words in a bar, or she simply flicks her cigarette & he rushes to relight it. One thing is for sure, she lives by her own rules & is bound by nothing…not the law or death itself. She’s usually a criminal minded free-spirit, manipulating her way through life to survive.
If you are an Ashwini, Bharani, Ashlesha, Purva Bhadrapada Rising Or an Aries, Scorpio, or Cancer Rising, or you have Pluto or Mars aspecting your 1H, you may come off as the femme fatale through the male gaze. Your dark, broody & secretive nature is fascinating to them, and they want to join you on a passionate journey through time & space or save you from whatever sticky situation you may have put yourself in. They want to play detective & you are the perfect case to crack. When the femme fatale enters the male’s life, she instantly posses a threat to his usually naive understanding of the world. She’s not your typical housewife— far from it. She challenges the traditional social construct of beauty & submission. Normally from a troubled/difficult past past, the femme fatale will only submit to law & death, she’s been forced to learn the ugly sides of life & uses them to her advantage. You may find that male’s tend to want to dominate you or control your direction in life in relationships, but you are REPULSED by this notion. This trope teaches men (and woman sadly), that freedom comes w a cost. Hopefully it’s not your life, but if it is, you sure make a sexy corpse!
✨Music:
Female Gaze: Wild side- Normani
Male Gaze: Dirty Diana -Michael Jackson
✨Examples
Filomena (Sophia Lauren)- Marriage Italian Style
Cat Woman- Batman
Carmen- Carmen Jones
Dr. Frank-N-Furter (played by the wonderful Lavern Cox)- The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Jennifer- Jennifer’s Body
Gilda (Rita Hayworth)- Gilda
Amy Dunne- Gone Girl
Laura Biel- 365 Days
Alex Vause- Orange Is the New Black
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💋Queen Bee/Mean Girl
Nakshatras: Krittika, Purva Phalguni, Chitra, Purva Ashadha
Zodiacs: Libra, Capricorn, Aries, Leo, Taurus & Gemini
Planets: Venus, Mars, Sun, Mercury
Tarot Card: Princess of Swords (Earth & Fire)
“The Mean Girl trope had us all believe that the dark side to womanhood is catty, conniving competitiveness.”
The swaddle.com
“Mean girls are often overly concerned with appearance. They may place a high priority on their clothing, their make-up, and even their weight. Likewise, they may zero in on these things in others, pointing out everything from acne and weight gain to clothing choices and hairstyles.”
-theteenmagazine.com
✨Somewhere between The Ice Queen and The Diva, there lies a sweet sour sweet CLASSIC female trope that always leaves the girls GAGGING in disbelief, like “did she just say that?!!” The Queen Bee/Mean Girl trope has her fair share of representation in film & TV, particularly in teen dramas, but she is NOT limited to high school. The Queen Bee is in charge, she knows what she wants, she knows how she likes it & she has ZERO problem letting her loyal subject know. Sometimes, she is portrayed w a deep deep deep DEEP down heart of hold, but most of the time, she’s just a straight biotch from beginning to end. You DON’T want to cross her, or you just might end-up on her ever growing hit-list. If there is one thing Ms. Mean Girl can do..it’s hold a grudge. As stated above, the Queen Bee/Mean girl trope serves the stereotype of the cattiness & competitiveness of femininity. And it is a fact that in the wild, the female animals are usually far more aggressive than their male counterparts. (Think Lion, or a Mama Bear). Boys may have their sports, but lady’s have their looks & they will secure that W come hell or high water all the way to Prom Queen.
If you are a Krittika, Purva Phalguni, Chitra, Purva Ashadha Rising or Libra, Taurus, Aries, Leo or Gemini Rising, OR if you have Venus, Mars or the Sun aspecting your 1H/7H, you may come off as the typical Mean Girl Trope through the Male Gaze. You’re aloof, yet decisive about the things you truly care about— like— “Wednesdays, we wear pink”. You keep people on the tip of their toes with witty banter & effortless conversation. If they don’t know the latest trends, the current celebrity gossip or who dumped whom…well, you’re just not interested in what they have to say, so why bother? You can play the villain easily & have no problem being unliked as long as you are respected. You are a social butterfly, a socialite, if you will. You know how to make the streets talk with admiration & envy. People may be afraid that they can’t meet your standards, but good, they probably can’t. NO UGLY FRIENDS is the motto— people may think you actually hold try-outs for who is allowed to sit with you at the table. Through it all, you know how to take control & lead— this energy oozes from you as people seem to just step aside as you sashay down the halls. Always up on the latest fashion, you always come w your A-game and your enemies will NEVER catch you slipping. There is a beautiful confidence that you exude because you know you are the one and only. People may be extremely intimidated by you, but the real ones will bow at your feet.
The shadow side of this trope is the shadiness. Queen Bees/Mean girls are known for being just that—MEAN. People may assume that you are quite backstabby & mischievous. YOU, of all the movie tropes, don’t mind playing
d-i-r-t-y! People perceive you as never wanting to let go of that crown & you’ll do whatever it takes to keep the social order in tact. Think “Status-Quo” High School Musical w Sharpay, the ULTIMATE representation of this trope, screaming from the top of the cafeteria! (THIS IS NOT WHAT SHE WANTS! THIS IS NOT WHAT SHE PLANNED!!!!!) She didn’t care who she had to cut, scheme, lie, trick, plot & sabotage to make SURE Ms. Gabriella did not get the spotlight w her man, Troy. Think of the lengths you’ll go to to get what you want. You come off as spicy, cunt-y (in the best way), & beautiful. You are a glamour girl & never afraid to throw some shade here & there, making you the ultimate reigning Queen Bee!
✨Music
Female Gaze: Feeling Myself- Nicki Minaj
Male Gaze: Mad at myself- Issues
✨Examples
Maddie- Euphoria
Regina George- Mean Girls
CoCo- Dear White People
Lulu- Pose
Toni- Girlfriends
Emma Roberts in Coven & Scream Queens
Blair- Gossip Girl
Cheryl Blossom- Riverdale
Santana- Glee (Rest in Peace)
Buttercup- Powerpuff Girls
Alison DiLaurentis- Pretty Little Liars
Sharpay- High School Musical
The Heathers
Penelope- My Dog (LOVE HER, but she’s such a Bitch—a bad one though lol)
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💋Ingenue/Damsel in Distress
Nakshatras: Mrigashirsa, Rohini, Hasta, Revati
Zodiacs: Cancer, Capricorn, Libra, Aries (All Cardinal Rising Signs) & Pisces, Taurus
Planets: Moon, Venus, Saturn
Tarot Card: Queen of Cups (Water) Libra, Aries
“The ingénue usually has the fawn-eyed innocence of a child but subtle sexual appeal as well.”
“The damsel in distress is a recurring narrative device (or trope) in which one or more men must rescue a woman who has either been kidnapped or placed in general peril. Kinship, love, or lust (or a combination of those) gives the male protagonist the motivation or compulsion to initiate the narrative. The female character herself may be competent, but still finds herself in this type of situation.”
Wikipedia
✨The Ingenue/Damsel in Distress is one of the most recognizable female movie tropes to date. From the tales of The Greeks, to King-Kong, to Broomhilda from Djengo— there is always some damsel…somewhere…that is…in fact…in…distress. The Ingenue is a naive babe, just learning the ins & outs of life. She’s pretty, she’s unassuming & adorably doe-eyed, full of wonder for the life ahead of her— just waiting for a strong man to show her the way! The ingenue is common, but in the best way. She’s not an ice-cold bitch like the Ice Queen or the Queen Bee, but she sits more in her femininity that the Tomboy or the Diva. She’s divine & subtle and a man is always lurking around the corner, waiting to whisk her away from all the evils in the world. If this sounds like a Disney Princess, it’s because it is. Most Disney Princesses would fit into the Ingenue/Damsel in Distress character trope, but just like most of the Princesses, no matter how young & impressionable, the Ingenue is usually the one who makes a way for herself in the end.
If you are a Mrigashirsa, Rohini, Hasta, Revati Rising or a Cardinal rising (Aries, Cancer, Libra Capricorn) or Pisces, the male gaze may perceive you as the Ingenue/Damsel in Distress trope. Your beauty & grace exceed you, & your youth is ever-present. When the male sees you, they just want to protect you & hold you dear. You spark masculinity in those who are attracted to you because you come across so soft & gentle. But don’t get it twisted, you can be a little spicy! You certainly have a little sass to you, but you try not to wear it on your sleeve. You are a true darling to those who are deserving. You serve ultimate demure womanliness & you seem to glide through any room you’re in. Although your impulsiveness & naiveté may land you in some sticky situations, there’s always a lovely leading man just beyond the pines to lead you out of the darkness and into their arms (Awwwwwwwwwww). You may be the type to need help opening the pickle jar, or clumsily fall into some big strong arms— you don’t mind being on the receiving end of affection & people just swoon over you. Unlike the Door Next Door, there can still be an “unapproachability” factor to you. You’re not the girl from down the street, you’re the new girl in town; a little lost, a little curious, but always cute! You may find that men tend to underestimate you & you’re constantly trying to prove yourself. OR you can find yourself in situations where your voice tends to be over powered as you get lost in a sea of toxic masculinity! Either way, you know how to leave a room in awe. You carry just enough mystique & intrigue that male’s fight to know more about you, but yet they just feel as if you’re a naturally good person. You’re coy, but not too coy. You’re shy, but not too shy. You are the perfect “woman”. You may have a past, but your future is always bright! A hero waits around the corner for the perfect time to catch you when you fall or introduce you to a world you didn’t know existed.
As the Ingenue/Damsel in Distress, your energy is POWERFUL, almost as if you’re sexily yelling “Fire! Fire! Save me! Help me!” when you walk into the room. You know how to keep the male gaze & they will break their necks to see you eloquently walk by. Before the reign of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, you were the trope on top— the beautiful default representation of hyper-femininty in the 20s/30s/40s. You set the standards for the early starlets, they were nothing if they weren’t the lovely ingenue!
✨Music
Female Gaze: Bring Me to Life- Evanessance, Pretty When I Cry- Lana Del Ray
Male Gaze: Let Me Love You- Mario
✨Examples
Betty Draper- Mad Men
Celie- The Color Purple
Neytiri- Avatar
Autumn- P-Valley
Daisy- The Great Gatsby
Persephone- The [Abduction] of Persephone
Irene- Drive
Angel Evangelista- Pose
Disney Princesses
Broomhilda- Django Unchained
Piper Chapman- Orange Is the New Black
Mississippi- P-Valley
Penelope- The Odyssey
Satine- Mulan Rouge
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💋Girl Next Door/Tomboy
Nakshatras: Anuradha, Uttara Ashadha, Shravana
Planets:Jupiter, Venus, Neptune
Zodiacs: Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces, Taurus, Libra
Tarot Card: Princess of Pentacles (Earth)
“The girl next door is usually from a small town or an un-flashy neighborhood. Her personality tends to be down-to-earth, supportive, and approachable. For both her main boy and her culture at large, the girl next door embodies an idealized, wholesome femininity.”
-the-take.com
✨The Girl Next Door/Tomboy Trope is by far the most realistic & relatable female trope of all. She’s not flashy. She’s not mean. She’s kind & sometimes even “one of the guys”. She gives off an innocence that makes her irresistible to the male gaze because she’s just so darn cool. She’s “not like the other girls”. Although she may prefer a comfy t-shirt & jeans, she’s comfortable in her femininity. She doesn’t try to compete with other woman— even though other woman my try & compete with her. Why? Because she’s usually the girl surrounded by all the guys— not because she flaunts her beauty, but rather because she’s not stuck on herself. She challenges the status quo demonstrating that sexy can be fun, sexy can be sweet & sexy can be “normal”. Zendaya is arguably the IT girl of a generation & she usually plays this type of character. She comes across as someone you can sip cool-aid with after she beats you in a round of basketball! For some, that’s sexier than Marilyn Monroe herself! This is the All-American (no matter the race) beauty that only lives a few doors down. This trope is most likely to be in the “friend-zone”, until one day the male realizes…”OH MY GOSH! SHE HAS BOOBS!”
If you are an Anuradha, Uttara Ashadha, Shravana Rising OR a Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces, Taurus, Libra Rising, you could come off as the Girl Next Door/Tomboy female trope. You’re approachable & not stuck on yourself & that makes you highly desirable through the male gaze. You’re simple & non-demanding like some of your other female counterparts and this makes you a breath of fresh air in a Kardashian fueled instagram dystopia. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure you know how to clean up nicely! When it’s times for you to put on a skirt & heels, you knock ‘em dead. You’re stunning! But you’d much rather lead with personality than looks. You have an effortlessness about you that can’t be obtained by just anyone. At times you may feel a bit awkward about your sexuality, but again, through the right male’s gaze, this is SUCH a turn on. This is an extremely powerful trope because you are realistic. You may have big dreams, but you feel like you come from humble beginnings. You’re authentic to yourself, not to Chanel & Gucci. Sometimes, you may feel overlooked & one-up’d by the “popular girl”, but there is ALWAYS someone who thinks you are the most beautiful girl in the room because you light up the room like no body else & don’t get me started on the way you flip your hair & how it gets the boys overwhelmed. You don’t know you’re beautiful…and that’s….that’s what makes you so beautiful. How lovely!
If you are the Girl Next Door Trope, you don’t have to worry about putting on a show to impress the boysies around you. Just continue to be you’re cool & down to Earth self. Even though it seems like we live in Shallow Land, where everything is based on superficial looks & flawless instagram selfies, you’re super special because you don’t give in. Don’t conform & don’t rush to be the “it” girl. You don’t need the BBL & the thick lashes. (NOTHING IS WRONG W THIS!!! NOTHING~~~) Your natural beauty is more than enough through the Male Gaze!
✨Music
Female Gaze: All You Wanted- Michelle branch
Male Gaze: Hey There Delilah- The Plain White Tees
*sorry I couldn’t link it! Ran out of space!
✨Examples
MJ (Zendaya)- Spider-Man
Zoe- Grownish
Victoria-Victorious
Monica- Love & Basketball
Bella- Twilight
Justice-Poetic Justice
Peggy- Mad Men
Moeisha- Moeisha
Betty Cooper- Riverdale
Blanca Rodriguez- Pose
Apollonia- Purple Reign
Danielle- The Girl Next Door
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💋Diva/Boss Bitch
Nakshatras: Pushya, Magha, Uttara Phalguni
Planets: Sun, Saturn, Mars
Zodiacs: Leo, Scorpio, Taurus, Aquarius (All Fixed Rising Signs) & Sagittarius, Capricorn
Tarot Card: Queen of Pentacles (Earth & Water)
“The strong, dark, beautiful woman. She's often a go-getter, chasing stardom, wealth, or just recognition for her talents. If she becomes an Idol, she's not constrained by the pressures of always appearing youthful, innocent, and approachable.
Part of her allure is instead her maturity, either in personality or in sexuality. When she walks in the room she not only turns heads, but she demands respect and won't hesitate to set you straight if she doesn't get it.”
-tvtropes.org
✨The Diva/Boss Bitch Female trope is THEE BADDEST BITCH. She’s worked hard to get where she is & she isn’t going to let some MAN come along and knock her off her thrown. This female trope demands a certain level of respect when she walks into the room— all heads turn because they know she’s the boss, just waiting to give quick & sharp directions. Usually fashionable, because she can AFFORD it (hello!), she knows how to command in any setting while looks good. A trend setter! She may be one of the most intimidating of the female tropes through the Male Gaze, on par with the Ice Queen, because the Diva carries a certain masculine energy. She usually is running things & bossing men around herself. She doesn’t let her sex get in the way of her ambition & talent. This character trope is not afraid to speak her mind because she knows she has just as much right to a seat at the table as anyone. She’s hard to impress & won’t settle for anything less than perfect. Mediocrity will NOT FLY with the Diva. She expects & she will have the best.
If you are a Pushya, Magha, Uttara Phalguni Rising or a Leo, Scorpio, Taurus, Aquarius, Sagittarius, or Capricorn Rising, you may come off as the Diva/Boss Bitch female character trope. You seem to prioritize work, success & your ambition over friendships & relationships. You force the males who gaze upon you to reevaluate their own status & merit in the world. They know you can’t be easily swayed & have to step to you with their best foot forward. Usually depicted as an insatiable boss, men may feel you’re an insatiable lover— demanding & hard to please…whatever, this doesn’t stop you! You know what you want & if they don’t get it for you, you’ll get it your damn self. You come off as self-assured & somewhat egotistical. You’re proud of your work & you expect to be treated like the BOSS that you are. If someone has a problem with that, well then, they can just get in line! Olivia Pope in Scandal is a great example of this trope in action. First, she has a J.O.B. & she’s DAMN good at it. The best, even. Her sex appeal through the male gaze is due to her wits & her competence. Like you, as soon as she walks into the room, people know it’s business time.
If you are the Diva/Boss Bitch Trope, don’t let ANYONE discredit your hustle—not another woman, not a man…NO ONE! You’ve worked hard to get where you are, and it shows because of the way you carry yourself. You can be one of the classiest tropes of all & that’s more impressive than you could ever know. Your beauty lies in the fact that you are sophistication personified. Your intrigue lies in the fact of your rarity! Not every woman is as ambitious or as capable as you are. You make men shiver when they lay eyes on you because you have an aura that screams “STEP YOUR GAME UP OR GET TO STEPPING!” Never try to dim who you are. You’re bossy & you’re the bitch they all LOVE to hate! Let them! You’d probably hate you too if you weren’t you because you are just too fly to handle! Confidence oozes from your pores because you know your stuff. Although it’s lonely at the top, you enjoy the view of downtown from your corner office! It’s hard to compete where others don’t compare Ms. Diva! Own it!
✨Music
Female Gaze: Flawless- Beyoncé
Male Gaze: Ms. Independent- Ne-yo
*sorry I couldn’t link it! Ran out of space!
✨Examples
Olivia Pope- Scandal
Blossom- Powerpuff Girls
Miranda Priestly— Devil Wears
Annalise Keeting- How To Get Away With Murder
Sylvie- Emily in Paris
Jaqueline- Boomerang
Shug Avery- The Color Purple
Cookie- Empire
Mercedes- P-Valley
Matron “Mama” Morton- Chicago
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2K notes · View notes
venus-haze · 10 months
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Girls on Film (Mickey Altieri x Reader)
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Summary: As a film studies major at Windsor College, your junior year is proving to be an eventful one as the eponymous Ghostface begins targeting fellow students, some who you consider friends. You try to focus on your classes, mainly the short film project you’re working on with Mickey Altieri, who your professor inexplicably paired you up with despite the two of you having almost polar opposite views on the medium. 
Note: Female reader, but no other descriptors are used. You’re also into gross out movies because I wanted a strong contrast to Mickey’s “blame the movies” thing and also irony…as you’ll see. This is an extremely dark fic, so look at the warnings before deciding whether to read this. Also, you know and I know that Mickey didn’t kill Randy, but in the context of the fic, the reader-character doesn’t know that. Do not interact if you are under 18 or post thinspo/ED content.
Word count: 4k
Warnings: One-sided rivalry (Mickey hates your guts). Discussions of “gross” movies and themes. Descriptions of violence. Major character deaths. Sexually explicit content which involves non/dubcon, knifeplay, bloodplay, sadism (slight masochism). Do not interact if you are under 18.
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Film Theory went from okay to off the walls when Mickey Altieri decided to make the argument that movies could be responsible for people’s actions. Using the brutal murders at the early Stab screening in town as an example was in poor taste when it had just happened the night before. It wasn’t even that you disliked Mickey, having met him in your Introduction to Film History course. He was pretty funny, and the two of you had a lot of the same classes together, moved in the same social circles. 
He’d expressed similar views before, but never so egregiously. You couldn’t believe a fellow film student would have such a regressive view of cinema. It was asinine to even entertain the idea, but you couldn’t let the conversation go on without giving your two-cents to your peers. 
“CiCi’s right. That exact thinking is what led to the Hays Code.”
“Bonnie and Clyde was one of the first post-Code movies to make it big. It showed there’s profit in glorifying crime and violence,” Mickey said. “The decade after it came out was the golden age of serial killers.”
“Oh sure, I watched one too many John Waters movies, and now I’m having sex in confession booths,” you said, earning snickers from your classmates. 
“Thank you,” Randy said. “I don’t think anyone was eating dog shit after watching Pink Flamingos.”
“Maybe Ghostface got the idea for the phone calls from Serial Mom,” one of your classmates quipped.
“Kathleen Turner’s character in that was inspired by serial killers. She read true crime books and collected paraphernalia,” Mickey argued.
“I’ll do you one better and raise you John Waters himself,” you said. “The guy has a morbid fascination with the Manson Family to the point where he incorporates references to them in almost all of his movies. He hasn’t committed any mass murders.”
“No, he just makes movies that make people wanna puke,” another classmate said.
Mickey opened his mouth to speak again, but was interrupted by Sidney and Hallie rushing to the classroom door, looking for Randy. Unable to keep the class’s attention after that, your professor dismissed everyone. 
CiCi made her way over to you, giving you an exasperated look. “Reagan-era politics have really poisoned some of these people’s critical thinking skills.”
“Tell me about it,” you agreed.
CiCi had been in a lot of the same classes as you your freshman year, and the two of you became fast friends over your similar taste in movies and distaste for closed-minded people. She was a big Lee Grant fan, wanting to make candid documentaries about tough social issues too.
You had some time to kill before your next class, so the two of you made your way to one of the empty picnic tables outside and continued the discussion, which had quickly turned into mutual ranting. Her point about the Slumber Party Massacre movies being directed by women was cut short when you realized you’d have to book it across campus to make it to Film Production II in time.
It was one of the higher level courses for film students who were looking to make feature films rather than focus on screenwriting or making documentaries. Among the prerequisites for Film Production II were Screenwriting I and II. In theory, everyone in the class would have two or three short film scripts ready to be adapted for an advanced Film Studies class. Few films were ever solo projects, so you weren’t surprised when your professor told everyone on the first day of class to prepare to be partnered up for the project, which would count for most of the course’s grade.
When you walked into the classroom, your professor handed you a slip of paper with two names on it. Yours and–of course. You almost had to laugh at the irony. Mickey. His attitude toward you could be unpredictable. Some days would be fine, and others it was like the two of you were about to bite each other’s heads off. 
Speak of the devil. You watched his reaction to the slip of paper when he walked in. Unreadable, even when his attention turned to you.
“Is Sidney okay?” you asked when Mickey sat next to you.
“As okay as anyone can be in this situation. That cop from Woodsboro’s here—Dewey, he’s keeping an eye on her.”
“That’s good.”
“So, let’s get started on this thing I guess. Any ideas?”
“Okay cool. I’ve been thinking about it for a while, and my strongest script is ‘The Tongue Remembers’.”
He scoffed. “The one about the cannibal girl who gets lobotomized?”
“Well, we could take the easy route and make a porno,” you snapped. “Not that it’d be very long.”
“Knowing you it’d be snuff.”
“Whatever. We’ll do one of yours, but I get to do casting and set design.”
“Easy enough, ‘Stakeout’ has four characters,” he said, digging through his backpack for a copy of the script.
You flipped through the script, scanning the first few pages to jog your memory. An action-comedy about a group of criminals who knew that they were being staked-out by undercover cops, unaware that one was within their midst. Mickey’s comedy writing was fast-paced and genuinely funny. You’d told him so in your peer review of his script in Screenwriting II. The reviews were anonymous, but the effort was still there.
Most of the reviews for ‘The Tongue Remembers’ were positive, with criticisms of some minor plot points that helped you make the whole script stronger in the long run. The review you appreciated most tore the damn thing apart, but gave detailed explanations for the suggestions given, all of which were so good you almost wanted to seek out who the source was. A handful of people didn’t care for your script at all, objecting to the plot altogether. You quietly suspected Mickey was one of them. 
You tried to shake the tension that had settled over you and Mickey following the exchange just a few moments prior. At least it’d be good experience for dealing with inevitable assholes as you worked your way up in the film industry. It was tough to make it without connections, and even tougher for women.
By the end of class, the two of you agreed to meet in the library the next day and start planning casting and a general production schedule. Mickey had more editing experience than you did, but you wanted to sit in on the process after initial production of the short film was over. He begrudgingly agreed, and you left the classroom for the dining hall in a sour mood. 
When you walked into the crowded dining hall for dinner, you spotted Randy and rushed over to join him. More often than you’d like, he’d have to be the mediator when you and Mickey would really get into it. At least he seemed to find it amusing.
“Hey, is everything alright?” you asked.
He handed you a plate that already had two slices of pizza on it and grabbed one for himself. “Besides the whole ‘Ghostface is back and people are being murdered’ thing? Can’t complain. How about you? Get your partner for Production II yet?”
“Yeah. Mickey.”
Randy laughed. “Nice. I’m sure that won’t be a disaster.”
“I don’t want it to be! I even said we could do one of his scripts.”
“Which one?”
“That action-comedy he wrote, ‘Stakeout’,” you said as the two of you sat at an empty table. “It’s a good script. He’s a great comedy writer. I’m just pissed he wouldn’t even consider ‘The Tongue Remembers’.”
Randy nodded in acknowledgement. “I liked that one. You did a good job of making the cannibals sympathetic. Strong ending too. I’m not so sure it’d go over well at Windsor’s student film fest. Lotta weak stomachs.”
“Last year’s winner was a fucking romcom.”
“So you give the cannibal a love interest. Go a little further than Texas Chainsaw 2.”
“I’m not trying to win awards. I wanna make art.”
“You gotta sell out before you can make art. That’s the industry, kid,” he said, patting your shoulder sympathetically. “Are you gonna be at the Delta Zeta whatever party tonight?”
“Delta Lambda Zeta? I don’t think so,” you said. “I gotta find people to be in this movie.”
It turned out to be one of the best decisions you could have made, because you ended up with a list of people interested in a role in ‘Stakeout’. More pressing, however, was the news that Ghostface had made an appearance at the party, after killing CiCi in the Omega Beta Zeta house. Your stomach dropped at the news. Just a few hours before her death you’d been talking to her. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t connected to anyone from the original Woodsboro killings, the students who were killed at the Stab premiere hadn’t been either.
In a small college like Windsor, news traveled fast, and by the time you finished eating breakfast, you’d heard that Sidney, Randy, Hallie, Derek, and Mickey had all spent the night at the police station following the attack. 
You didn’t want to ask Randy if you were a suspect. Your film taste alone would put you at the top of the list by default. As much as you understood the reasoning considering the last Ghostface duo’s obsession with horror movies, it didn’t mean everyone who watched them would be inclined to commit murder, despite what Mickey thought. Besides, who would your accomplice even be? Derek or Hallie would be too obvious. Gale Weathers was cutthroat, but not in the literal sense. Randy or Dewey would be a devastating twist if the goal was to mess with Sidney that much more. You felt bad. This type of thing was fun in the movies. You couldn’t imagine it being your life. 
Making your way to the library, you weren’t sure whether or not Mickey would actually show up after spending all night in a police station, but it didn’t hurt to go anyway and get other work done.
To your surprise, he sat down across from you a few minutes after you’d agreed to meet. He was wearing the same clothes as the day before, dark circles under his eyes.
“Jesus have you even slept? We can do this another day.”
“Spare me your concern.”
“Look, I don’t want this project to be miserable for either of us,” you said. “Between Film Theory and Production, I was kind of being a bitch yesterday.”
“It was really that porno comment that hit me deep. I’m no two-pump chump,” he said with a smile.
“Alright, alright. I’m sorry,” you laughed. “Oh, I have some people interested in three of the four roles for ‘Stakeout’.”
“Already?”
“I wanted to make it up to you.”
He was silent for a moment, placing a hand on your arm and squeezing gently. “I’m sorry about CiCi. I know she was your friend.”
“Thanks,” you whispered, trying to keep it together. The last thing you wanted was to break down in the middle of the library.
The two of you planned to do a test shoot in one of the theater’s empty practice auditoriums over the weekend. The main stage was being used for the theater department’s annual play, but Mickey pointed out that ‘Stakeout’ mostly took place in one room anyway. You went ahead and booked the auditorium on the library computer for about three hours, just to give enough time to work out any kinks and not worry about being interrupted.
While Mickey was going to spend the following couple of days getting props together and making any last minute changes to the script, you would finalize the cast since he approved of your choices, surprisingly. At least, you were going to, until Randy ended up dead not long after CiCi. 
You spent a day locked in your dorm room, partially out of paranoia and also in the depression of losing two of your close friends within days of each other. It was getting serious. Randy had survived Woodsboro. If he wasn’t off limits to Ghostface, no one was. 
By Saturday, you’d debated bailing on Mickey and not bothering to show up for the test shoot. You decided against it. Moping wouldn’t do you any good.
He looked shocked to see you when you walked into the auditorium. You felt bad your progress on casting stalled. His friend had died too, but he had his shit together enough to bring a box of props and the camera.
“Are you sure you’re good to shoot today?” Mickey asked from behind the camera, set a few feet from the stage.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” you said, your voice cracking a bit. “Really, it’s all good.” 
“We don’t have to–”
You shook your head. “Let’s do this.”
“Alright,” he said, though he didn’t sound convinced. “You mind locking the door?”
“Okay.” You walked back to the door, locking it. “I got two of the leads for ‘Stakeout’ down, Frank and Alex. I know Frank wasn’t our first choice, but Greg backed out.”
“No problem–shit, I forgot something in the props box over there,” he said, adjusting the settings on the camera. “Could you get it while I finish setting this up? You can’t miss it.”
“Sure,” you said, making your way over to the cardboard box Mickey had brought with him. It took a lot to rattle you, but as soon as you looked in the box, your skin crawled. The Ghostface mask stared back at you, eyes empty black holes. The same ones your friends saw before they died. “Mickey? This better be some kind of stupid joke.”
You turned around to find him less than a foot behind you. Camera set to record. Knife in his hand. Dangerous gleam in his eye as he took a step toward you.
“Last minute change—unprofessional, I know—but I decided to go in a different direction for our short film,” he said, a sadistic grin spread across his face. “You’re gonna be the star. Too bad you won’t be able to see it.”
Just as you began to scream, he put his hand over your mouth, holding the knife to your throat. “Don’t be a diva on me now. You just say what I tell you, okay?”
You nodded frantically, vision blurred by the tears that flowed freely from your eyes. In your desperation, you accidentally nicked your own skin against the knife, whimpering at the small cut you’d self-induced. Mickey snickered, his gaze shifting from you to the camera lens.
He moved his hand from your mouth, though his thumb rested on your lower lip. Slowly, he pushed it between your lips. Fuck this. Fuck him. You bit down until you tasted copper, earning a sloppy slash across your chest that made you cry out in pain, releasing his thumb. 
He looked at his hand in disbelief and then at you, a grin spreading across his face. “You’re gonna fight back, huh? You wanna play that game?” he said, an unnerving laugh escaping his lips.
Feeling bold, you spit his own blood in his face. In his moment of distraction you grabbed the knife, managing to pull it from his hand. You stumbled back, holding out the knife with a shaky hand. 
Despite you having the weapon, he still seemed smug, amusement in his eyes as he lunged toward you. You wildly swung the knife, cutting his abdomen as you crashed to the ground. He climbed on you, grabbing at your flailing arms as you tried to keep him away with the threat of being cut again.
“I’ll kill you! Fucking bastard!” you screamed. “You killed my fucking friends!”
“Do it!” he taunted. “C’mon, I wanna see you try.”
In your struggle to stab him, you lost your grip on the knife, and it slid across the stage. The both of you froze. You used this moment to push him off of you, scrambling to retrieve it. He threw a punch to your back. The wind knocked out of you, violent coughs clawing their way out of your lungs. He took the opportunity to stand up as you lay on the ground in pain.
Still, with the adrenaline pumping through your veins, you grabbed for the knife, hissing as your fingers wrapped around the blade and cut deep into your skin. It didn’t matter. You had to do the most with it while you had it in your grasp.
You held the knife up in a weak defense as he kicked your stomach. When he moved to kick you again, you slashed his leg, pulling the blade from his flesh and watching as blood quickly stained his pants. 
The wild look in his eye intensified, and he dropped down, his hips straddling yours. You could feel his hard cock press against your core as he shifted. And he said you got off to fucked up shit. 
With one hand, he applied pressure to your throat as the other held down the arm you were holding the knife with. You released your grip on the knife as black spots clouded your vision. You could vaguely hear it fall to the ground when his hand released your throat, and you sucked in a much-needed breath. He picked up the weapon, a triumphant grin on his face. You were fucked.
He sat up, lazily dragging the knife down from your chest to your hips. “You probably should’ve killed me.”
“You think I wasn’t trying?” you wheezed.
“You put up a good fight. I’ll give you that.”
“Don’t act like you don’t love it.”
“And you don’t? I saw the thrill in your eyes every time you raised this at me.”
“It’s self-defense!”
“You tell yourself that, babe,” he said, leaning down to kiss you, only for him to stop to whisper, “Try something, and I swear to god I’ll knock your teeth out.”
You were having trouble breathing. He probably crushed part of your trachea. At least you put up a good fight. You lay still as he kissed you, not making an effort to kiss him back until he pressed the blade against your throat. Even then, you let him take the lead, your lips passively responding to his as he deepened the kiss, slipping his tongue into your mouth. He wasn’t a bad kisser. Shame he was a serial killer. It took everything in you not to bite down on it like you had his thumb. You didn’t have the energy to fight back. Knew he wasn’t bluffing about your teeth either.
He pulled away from you, a string of bloody saliva hanging from your lips that he swiped with his injured thumb. Bringing the digit to his mouth, he licked it. You grimaced at the sight.
“C’mon, babe, I thought you were into this kinda thing,” he teased.
“That’s all pretend. It’s not real,” you argued softly.
You gasped as he cut through your top and bra, digging the blade into your abdomen. He traced the tip of the knife around your breasts, watching in amusement as you began to cry. The cool air in the room and metal brushing your nipples made them hard. He used his free hand to pinch and pull at one, eliciting pained whines from you. Your teary gaze was fixed on the knife, though.
“Why don’t you give me a big smile for the camera and tell me how bad you want me to fuck you?”
“Screw you!” you shouted hoarsely.
He scoffed, pulling the knife away from your breasts and holding the blunt side between his teeth as he unzipped your jeans. You squeezed your eyes shut as he pulled the denim down your limp legs, leaving you in only your panties. His index and middle finger pressed against the cotton, rubbing a bit at the wet spot in the fabric.
A pleased noise came from his throat. “So you are into this kinda thing.”
He snapped the elastic waistband against your hips. You moaned. Your eyes shot open, face heating up in embarrassment. 
The knife was back in his hand, though the gleam of the blade lowered, down, down, until you felt it pressed against your inner thigh. He dragged the blade across your sensitive skin until the only thing between it and your pussy was the thin fabric of your panties. You felt like your heart was going to explode from your chest.
“Stop. Mickey, please don’t—oh my god—“ you babbled. “Please—Mickey, I’m sorry—“
“You gonna do what I say?”
“Please fuck me, Mickey. I want you to fuck me so bad.”
“That’s better, baby,” he cooed mockingly.
You heaved a sob of relief as you felt him pull the knife from your panties. Closing your eyes again, you reckoned your impending doom with yourself, trying to ignore the sound of his zipper. The rustling of fabric. The air on your bare pussy.
“Time for the real show.”
Mickey played with your clit while he leaned down to kiss you again, devouring your involuntary moans with a triumphant smugness. 
“The rest of them were messy and painful, just like in the movies,” he said softly, confusing you for a moment before you realized he was talking about his other victims. “I didn’t hate them, though, so I’ll blame this one on violent porn.”
“Mickey, I won’t tell anyone,” you tried. “This can be our secret. I—I like it, really.”
He groaned, pushing his hard cock between your folds. A pained cry escaped your lips as his length filled you. He hardly gave you any time to get used to him inside you as he began thrusting at a brutal pace.
“Keep going,” he hissed through gritted teeth.
“You feel so good, Mickey. Your cock is so—fuck—I don’t want anyone else.” You struggled to get words out, your brain overrun by the pain and pleasure that competed to cloud your senses. 
“You’re not getting anyone else.”
Your eyes drifted to the knife in his hand as he pounded into you, nervous about what he was going to do with it next.
“Look at me, baby,” he ordered. 
Your fearful gaze snapped to his, cruel and unforgiving. He kept rubbing circles on your clit, so fast it was almost too painful. That’s what he wanted, though. For you to hurt. Made him feel better, get off quicker if you hurt. It was almost too easy for him, the way your body betrayed you so quickly, wet with slick so he hardly had to do a thing before claiming your cunt. 
Your pussy squeezed his cock, a silent encouragement with each thrust against your will. His breathing was heavy, sweat dripping from his forehead, yet he showed no signs of letting up on you. Bleeding, aching, you weren’t sure how much longer you could take the abuse. 
“I want you to ruin me, Mickey.” You meant it. If this was how you were going to meet your end, it might as well be as brutal as the dark scenarios your mind sometimes wandered to after watching a particularly bloody film. Maybe he was right. Maybe the movies were to blame. “Fucking wreck me.”
He shuddered, his thrusts getting sloppy. “Fuck–Jesus fucking–”
His grip around the knife handle tightened as he came, knuckles white as he stabbed it into the floor, mere inches away from your face. You jolted, fear and adrenaline sending you over the edge. Your orgasm wracked through your body, muscles tensing, the sensation pulsing through your wounds, making them feel like they were on fire.
You nearly blacked out, but you held on long enough to feel him bottom out inside you. His head hung over yours as he caught his breath. Tilting your head up a bit, you kissed him. Softer, more intimate, hopefully enough to throw him off.
You reached for the knife next to you, but he pulled it out of the floor before you could.
“Nice try,” he said, breaking the kiss.
He stood up and walked away. For a moment, you thought he was going to just leave you there. You weren’t so lucky. He returned with Ghostface regalia in hand, looking down at your bloody body beneath him with a grin.
Mickey brought the voice modifier to his mouth. “Now, who wants to die for art?”
230 notes · View notes
queergaygaygaygay · 11 months
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Don’t know if this has blown up on Tumblr but, in the new Spiderverse film (spoilers), we see Gwen’s room which features a trans pride flag above her door. We also see a smaller flag sowed into her father’s police jacket.
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They have been some theories sparked off by this with people speculating if Gwen is trans or just an ally. I find the argument about allyship to not quite hold up given where the flag is located. Someone’s bedroom is a very personal space and Gwen has only had one friend before Miles so it seems like the flag isn’t a social indicator for allyship but something more personal.
It’s perfectly possible that Gwen feels such close allyship that she keeps a pride flag in her room but I can’t really think of a justification for this. This level of passion for allyship would probably come out of a personal connection to a trans person but Gwen has very few people she feels close to (especially at the start of the film), namely: Peter Parker and her dad. These are the only people that could’ve inspired her allyship and it is possible for these characters to be trans, and one or both of these characters being trans would explain the trans flag on her dad’s police uniform since Peter was close with her dad, however I cannot find any further evidence of these character’s transness though it is possible.
It is semi-plausible to say Gwen saw trans people struggling online, and her father was convinced by this to wear a pride flag on his uniform to show allyship, though I personally don’t know any allies who have pride flags in their room.
This also seems like a strange detail for a film that is so purposeful in its visual nuances so I would imagine the reasoning behind this is less convulated than the allyship theories.
Another clue to her possible transness could be in her universe’s animation style which uses blues, purples, whites and pinks- the colours of the trans pride flag.
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When I was watching the film, I spotted the trans flag and thought it was interesting. I hadn’t heard the rumours or even watched the full trailer. As the plot unfolded, I made some comparisons between Gwen Stacy’s expierience in the film and my own trans experience; the alienation from society, the anger at the world, the search for a community, the disconnect with family and the eventual acceptance of family. This made me feel a rather intimate connection with the character and her story and I think it’s actually encouraging me to come out to my mother but I haven’t yet (I asked if I could go to pride with friends and she said yes so hopefully that gives me the confidence).
This subtle but poignant dropping of the trans flag into the film, the film’s nature of making every detail significant and the clear comparison between her character arc and the general trans experience gives me the impression that the team behind the film intended for Gwen to be allegorically, or even canonically, trans and, if so, I hope they do more with this since I was genuinely brought to tears.
Whilst we can not prove Gwen is trans, we can’t prove she isn’t trans and, as explained, it isn’t impossible. I read through the reddit post and found a lot of people, unsurprisingly, saying that this is just Twitter making everyone think everyone is trans and she is conclusively not trans but I don’t use Twitter (as a loyal Tumblr girl) or had heard anything about Gwen’s story arc so my experience was as organic as anyone’s experience who came out of the cinema thinking she was cis. This stubborness to not believe Gwen could be trans is ignorant, from my perspective, because there’s no reason to say she isn’t trans. It’s more logical to assume characters are cis because most people are cis statistically but, here, we have evidence for possible transness so it feels more like a Shrödinger’s transgender- where a character could be trans, due to non-conclusive evidence, or could be cis, depending on what the writers (in regards to cannon) and fans (in regards to headcannon and fan works) choose.
Thanks for reading. I love the film regardless of this detail and would happily nerd out with any fans. If you want any citations, I’ll hand you them through dms. I would add them here but I don’t know if that would be unusual.
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